Divinitis (Olympians)

“Have you heard the great stories? The classic tales of ancient times? The legends of gods and adventures? Good, cause you’re about to meet one in person…”

The tales of Greek mythology are myths that were created to explain the unexplainable, entertain the masses, and allow an artist to create fantastic stories of wonder.

Or were they?

A long lost art, Divinitis was practiced by a select group of wraiths prior to and during the Golden Age. When the collapse of Rome occurred, their numbers declined sharply, and most were wiped out during the first Maelstrom, their powers living on in the myths of mortals and the memories of wraiths.

A wraith with Divinitis is an extraordinary wraith indeed. Its powers are long whispered of among the Guilds. Rumors that the some Gaunts still practice this art are dismissed quickly by the targets of the rumors. If anyone has the knowledge of this art, they are not saying anything.

Many of the historians consider the Olympians the original Guild. Unrestrained by the Dictum Mortuum, the Olympians turned the ancient world into their playground, messing with the living and trying to keep the old myths remembered while creating new ones. Their support of Charon’s power lead them to a highly favored status among the wraiths, and they enjoyed a freedom that no other Guild has ever known. However, their downfall came with the rise of Christianity and the fall of their supporters. As the Golden Age ended, the numbers of the Olympians dwindled severely, the power of myth no longer accepted in Quick society. The last remaining members of the original Guild were among the first to be swallowed by the Maelstrom as they feverishly tried to stop it with their powers and regain their old glory.

Owl Eyes: This art is used to temporarily control an animal in the Skinlands; the wraith may use this animal as a surveillance tool, seeing and hearing what the animal senses, directing it into places most humans cannot get at, and even using the animal to attack a Quick or Embodied wraith. If the wraith’s time is nearing the end, the wraith may attempt to regain control of the animal, but if it takes too much abuse, the animal will perish.
System: Roll Manipulation + Divinitis (difficulty 5). One success allows the user to manipulate any target animal by the means described above. Any additional successes dictates how many turns the user may use the animal in this way. If it is the last turn, the user may again roll as above to gain additional listening turns. If the animal is not released before the last turn is up, it dies.

Selene’s Slumber: To communicate with mortals, usually through Phantasm, the mortals had to first be sleeping. This ability puts the target into a gentle, deep dreamless sleep. Although this is the ideal easel for an artful Sandman, it can also be useful against enemies who might otherwise deal immediate harm to the user.
System: Roll Perception + Divinitis (difficulty 6). One success is all that is needed to put the target to sleep for a scene. There can only be one target each time this Arcanoi is used; this ability cannot put an entire group of people to sleep.
This art costs 1 Pathos.

Level One: Face of Medusa
With this ability, the wraith may temporarily paralyze a target or group of targets with a single glance. The effect is temporary, and does not harm other wraiths in and of itself.
System: Roll Manipulation + Divinitis (difficulty 6). For each success, a target remains paralyzed for one turn. Successes may be spread out among a group of wraiths instead, paralyzing a larger group for less turns. For example, if there are two wraiths you wish to target and you have three successes, you may put one wraith to sleep for three turns or one wraith for two turns and the other for one.
Each use costs 2 Pathos.

Level Two: Curse of Arachne
A wraith using this art may temporarily turn themselves or another person into an object of their choice. The objects must be somewhat small and uncomplicated, and the material that the target is made of is not changed, only the shape and size. If the object is a small animal (about as big as a large dog), the difficulty is slightly higher. If the object is large, alive or not, the difficulty is much greater. This was used frequently to scare “mortals” or to get rid of an annoying wraith long enough to escape or destroy them.
Botches of this art are extremely bad. A botch may result in the curse backfiring and turning the user into the item in question!
System: Roll Dexterity + Divinitis (difficulty 6 for small item, 7 for a small animal, 9 for a large item). For each success, the target becomes that item for one turn. Afterward, the curse wears off and the target returns to normal. The target will only have memory of blurring and lots of loud noise, but nothing more.
Each use costs 2 Pathos and gains the user 1 Angst if the target is an unwilling one.

Level Three: Bolt of Zeus
Wraiths with this art may hurl bolts of energy resembling lightning at a target. The bolts are not very big, but can be quite effective against enemies in pursuit. This art can be used against the Quick or wraiths; however, it only does aggravated damage against the Quick. It also does aggravated damage against vampires, werewolves, and changelings.
System: Roll Dexterity + Divinitis (difficulty 7). For each success, the user may fire a bolt at a target; each bolt does damage equivalent to the user’s Divinitis rating.
Each use of this art costs 2 Pathos and 1 WP.

Level Four: Trident of Poseidon
This art allows the wraith to trigger a localized earthquake; this effect can be used anywhere in the Shadowlands or Skinlands. Needless to say, the effect of this Arcanoi can be devastating; buildings can collapse, passersby can be injured or killed. This ability is powerful, but the wraith using it must consider the consequences on his or her surrounding environment.
System: Roll Strength + Divinitis (difficulty 8). The strength of the earthquake depends on the number of successes; one success will rattle the dishes in a room and throw people off their feet while five might completely destroy an entire city block. If the user gets more successes than they need, they may gain an Angst per point of damage removed. If a wraith wanted to do four successes worth of damage and gained six successes, the wraith must gain two Angst to prevent that much damage from occurring.
This art costs 2 WP to use.

Level Five: Arrows of Artemis
Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, had a set of arrows that would cause a quiet, painless death on contact, no matter where the victim was shot. A wraith with this ability may infuse an item of their choice with a similar spell that causes death on contact. For the Quick, it means first death; for a wraith, their Corpus rapidly but painlessly disintegrates and they fall deep into Oblivion. The item may be anything, including a relic or an artifact. The user is immune to the effect they place on any item and may handle the object without any danger; however, if someone else taints the object, then they are just as susceptible as any wraith. Once the item has been touched, the effect is gone.
System: Roll Stamina + Divinitis (difficulty 9). Each success strengthens the spell on the item. After a certain level, the item is ready to use. The level depends on the size of the item. 5 levels are required for small items, such as jewelry or coins, 7 for larger items, such as a book or pistol, and 9 for large items, like a sword or cane.
This art costs 3 Pathos and gains the user 3 Angst for each attempt.