Theonic Powers

Theonics is a study of the evolved life force possessed by divine beings - and the many abilities such an ascended essence makes possible. Using this obscure and advanced knowledge, a deionicist can learn how to both emulate and counter the abilities of immortal beings they encounter in the course of their adventures, or even ascend to godhood itself if the idea so pleases them.

Arts of the theonic variety are incredibly potent abilities, those with which a deionic entity can perform veritable miracles. Many of these make use of the power of faith, a spiritual energy generated by the belief mortal beings hold in regard to the immortal - or seeming immortal - entities in the multiverse. Theonic arts can also be used to shrug off supposedly certain death, or to ascend oneself or others to divine status.

Theonic talents do not have quite so volatile an effect on the cosmos, but are nothing to shake a stick at. These abilities are aimed at countering the powers and very nature of divine entities, leveling the playing field against such seemingly invincible foes. Talents of a theonic bent are also useful for eavesdropping on one's many followers - or perhaps granting them potent, clerical spellcasting abilities.

Theonic skills are a hodge-podge of vital abilities a deionicist can use to manage those who venerate them, as well as helping them to deal with the competition for such founts of faith. They can be used to grant special one-time perks to a follower, hide oneself from the eyes of other deific beings, or even to build a new body for the deceased amongst one's faithful for use in their afterlives.

Below lies a summary of the thirty-four known theonics, collected here for ease of use, with powers from the other eight disciplines having been pruned away to help one focus upon their path to immortality - or the fight against deific entities. This is also a handy tool for believers or natural psis whose accidentally awakened psionics lean on abilities of this stripe.

A

Antideionic Attack
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

A singularly potent way to assault a deific being, this ability allows its possessor to draw forth a negatively charged bundle of the evolved life force which marks a deific being as such. This bundle takes the form of an energy attack, one which inflicts power rank Deionic (De) damage with each devastating use, a type of assault that few individuals have the capability to withstand for long.

While few mortal defenses are proof against an antideionic attack, this power is also quite effective against those that are deific in nature. When wielded against any protection that has its basis in deionic energies, like as an aura of such or perhaps a god-forged armor suit of some kind, an antideionic attack will take on an Armor Piercing component. Antideionic attacks function within Near distance of this power's possessor.

Direct exposure to antideionic energy prompts a Psyche (will) ACTION roll against its power rank, the failure of which will prevent the use of one's theonic powers for 1d10 turns. This represents the mutual annihilation caused by deionic / antideionic energy interaction, and the time required for one to replenish their supply of deific energy afterwards - along with a bit of radiation-induced fatigue.

Apotheosis
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 4 points (flat cost)

A character may work hard to garner the faith of mortal beings, and might even be able to avoid death now and then thanks to their powers - or sheer luck. However, this alone does not make him or her an immortal being. Ascending from the mortal to the immortal takes an evolution of one's life force, prompting it to change from one state to the other, and is rarely an easy task to manage.

Apotheosis, the process of becoming divine, can occur through a variety of different methods, as our fiction readily demonstrates. On occasion, one can find that which is divine within themselves through intense introspection and soul-searching. Alternately, this can happen as a result of interaction with items or energies beyond mortal ken. Other deific beings may even awaken one's divinity for reasons all their own.

No matter how one manages it, an apotheosis marks an individual as more than mortal. However, this does not necessarily render them immune to death. When a character's spark of divinity is first ignited, they become a demigod, a being who can still die permanently - but has one 'extra' life. What this means is that, if their other powers don't spare them from death, a demigod has at least one 'do-over' ready to bail them out.

After acquiring this 'extra' life, a demigod may work hard to acquire more. Each additional life is acquired through the completion of a grand quest, though a would-be immortal may not know what such quests entail at first. In fact, he or she may have to do research to determine which tasks they must complete to improve their bid for immortality, before actually going through with each quest in question.

Through hard work and intense dedication, a demigod can eventually pile up enough lives to ascend to true immortality. The tipping point is thirteen extra lives; once this amount is reached, the demigod is therefore considered a god, and subsequently has an infinite amount of lives to lean on. This may seem the zenith of one's career, but it is most often just the end of the beginning for most immortal characters.

Apotheosis itself has no rank number to speak of; one either possesses a degree of immortality or they do not. During character generation, apotheosis costs a player either one power slot (when generating a character randomly) or four points (when generating a character systematically). If a character acquires this ability after character generation, simply calculate its Karma costs normally.

Avatar
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous when building an avatar, maintenance when driving one
Cost: 2 points per rank

An avatar is a sort of surrogate body, a spare self that one can create to perform a variety of functions - without actually being present in a given area. A deific being may only have one avatar active at any moment in time, but may build as many as he or she desires - the better to guide their flock to greater glory... or perhaps to simply avoid placing oneself at risk of serious harm or death.

To craft an avatar, deifics must first spend one point of faith energy to fashion the core of their new, secondary body. After this, he or she must then pay one point of faith energy for each rank in each physical ability above Typical (6) - as well as one point of faith energy for each rank in every ascendant power the avatar will have access to, multiplied by the point cost of the power in question.

These powers need not be those the deific being normally possesses.

An avatar's physical ability scores and powers can be 'bought' at any rank a deific desires - with an upper limit of the avatar power rank, that is. On the other hand, a deific being need not spend faith to equip an avatar with mental attributes, nor are they limited to avatar's power rank. This is because it is the deific's own mind that animates an avatar; when not in use, an avatar is simply inert matter.

If destroyed, no harm will come to the deific being animating an avatar - the only disadvantage of losing an avatar is the loss of the faith energy used in creating it... and the expenditure one must make to craft another (if necessary).

When building a new proxy body for themselves, deifics need only roll a green power ACTION. However, it takes time to forge a new physical body for oneself. One can only generate an amount of bodily matter with this ability, in pounds, equal to their power rank number each turn. Thus, building a three hundred pound body with an Amazing (50) ranked avatar power would require six full turns.

When first generating an avatar's body, one's own frame suffers serious strain. The personal energies lost on each turn of an avatar's creation is equal to one Health point, which isn't such a big deal when building small bodies for oneself to inhabit, but can add up fast when you're trying to make monstrously large forms. This Health loss must be recovered in whatever fashion is normal for the wielder of avatar.

Awe
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

When mortal beings are directly subject to the divine, their minds find the occurrence difficult to cope with. By projecting a wave of godly presence, a deific can interrupt whatever mortals in their vicinity (within Very Near distance) were doing, causing them to behave in a manner that is dependent on the differences in philosophical bent between the immortal entity and said mortals.

Mortal beings subject to divine awe are so interrupted if they fail a Psyche (will) ACTION roll against awe's power rank.

If awed mortals are of the same philosophical leaning (good, perhaps), they will typically go out of their way to help him or her, as if subject to mesmerism. If of opposing morality, however, a deific being will inspire great fear in the mortals before him or her, as if victimizing them with emotion control. Finally, those who are neutral to the deity's cause will typically just stop short, potentially drooling in amazement at him or her.

B

Bless
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank

A blessing can be used to impart divine good will upon (or into) a target. When used on a living being, this ability will provide a +1 CS to any action attempted by the target, whether he or she is making (or avoiding) attacks, wielding (or resisting) powers, or anything else. Blessings do not add to a character's damage, but do make it a whole lot easier for them to succeed in their endeavors.

When used in such a manner, a blessing will last for a number of turns equal to its power rank number. For example, the recipient of an Amazing (50) ranked blessing will retain the bonuses imparted for 50 turns - five full minutes! Only one blessing can affect a target at a time, but there is nothing preventing multiple blessings being used on a target; if one expires, the second will suddenly kick in for the remainder of its own duration.

Bless can also be used on inanimate objects, as well. By showering an item with deific favor, a character can grant it a +1 CS on both the hit rolls a person wielding it will attempt, as well as the damage it will cause. Blessed items remain blessed for the same duration as characters, but the duration of a blessing does not start counting this time down until the item is actually used.

For example, a sword can be blessed by the Amazing (50) ranked power above and then sheathed, its fifty turns of blessing not expiring until it is wielded in combat. There is no limit to the amount of time that this deific power may sit idle; one may be adventuring and find an object that has been blessed thousands of years ago, which can be a letdown when its seemingly amazing potential degrades after a short while!

Boon
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

A variant form of the link ability, boon allows its possessor to share his or her ascendant power with others. The difference between boon and link, however, is that the former is more of a one way transaction. Boon can only be used to lend power to others, not to receive it in turn, and the wielder of this ability cannot actually control how said power is to be used... only whether or not it is to be granted.

How boon works is that, while active, it is constantly listening for requests for power from others. There is no range limitation on such entreaties, and a character with boon may lend his or her power to anyone - no matter where in the multiverse they happen to be. Furthermore, the power to be granted only works once per request; to wield a boon-granted ability again, an entreater must entreat the wielder of boon for it anew.

The use of boon is a great way to enhance one's reputation as a being of power, and granting might to others can imbue them with great respect for the giver of boons. This is one reason that entities wishing to encourage the veneration of their person may keep boon active at all times; the more they can aid others, the more that word of their might - and generosity - will spread throughout all reality.

While boon is functioning, its possessor can grant the use of any power he or she possesses to anyone who entreats them for it. This power will function at any intensity up to the power rank of boon itself - regardless of its actual level of power. The only problem is that while one is in the process of granting a boon, they will suffer a reduction in the power of an ability being lent out to others.

If a character is lending out a power to but one person, this reduction is a mere -1 CS. However, for each doubling of individuals making use of a power boon, this negative Column Shift increases by one; granting four persons a specific power would incur a -3 CS penalty, while giving sixty-four an identical boon of power would inflict a -7 CS penalty on the power in question.

This drain of power is why most possessors of boon usually don't grant their power to just anyone. They often require those who entreat them for power to perform some sort of ceremony or perhaps even a specialized spell to gain the use of their prowess. This serves both to extend the mystique surrounding the granter of boons, as well as the ability to better filter out power requests from the 'unwashed masses'.

When such precautions are not taken, a character can be drained, however temporarily, of his or her power completely. A power drained to Shift 0 intensity cannot be lent out any further - which will cause additional entreaties to fail. And for those who are using the ability to build up their credibility with those who they wish to be worshiped by, that may be a fatal error.

C

Commandment
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Essentially the reverse of the commune spell, commandment allows a deific being to directly communicate with those who venerate him or her. Naturally, the worshiped need not go through the same hoops a worshiper must to achieve communications, though sometimes it may be difficult to convince the faithful that what they're hearing is the true voice of their god.

When invoking this power, a deionic entity can exploit the channel of faith energy a follower generates, doing so to make contact with a member of their flock. Once this connection is made, the immortal can communicate in any way he or she wishes, whether merely transmitting empathic impulses, verbal instructions (hence the name of this power), or actually engaging in a two-way conversation.

Conversing with a follower that is either on their home plane or within the deific being's realm requires but a green power ACTION roll. If a follower is in neither location but is still within the same time frame, a yellow power ACTION is necessary to communicate with them. Red power ACTIONs are typically only required if a follower is out of their normal, defined place in time - or within the realm of another deity.

D

Deific Impersonation
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

The process of deific impersonation is a technique through which a character may interpose themselves between a person, place, or thing of great power, and those which would entreat them for mystical assistance. This ability will reveal who is attempting to entreat the targeted source for power, the location from where they are doing so, and what they're specifically requesting (the anonymity ability aside).

Armed with this information, they can attempt a deific impersonation ACTION to hijack an entreaty, an ACTION rolled against an intensity equal to the boon a petitioner is requesting from this supposed higher power. If successful, the wielder of this ability may handle that purloined request as they see fit. This is all well and good, you say, but why would someone bother to do this, you wonder?

A character can use this technique to help out others if he or she wishes, fueling entreaty spells with their own power, helping them to avoid the dreaded 'attention' that entreaty overuse can cause. The deific impersonator can use any of their powers (aside from this one) to provide the requested result, with an upper limit of this power rank. This can even offer the Column Shifts requested on some entreaties.

On the other hand, if he or she wishes to sabotage an entreater, the deific impersonator may perform a few nasty tricks. With control of the entreaty that was made, our deific impersonator may alter a requested positive Column Shift into a negative one, or even transform the requested effect into something else entirely; imagine making an entreaty to blast a foe, only to find yourself suddenly teleporting on top of them!

Or, of course, the deific impersonator could just do nothing, forcing the entreaty to fail outright.

This can be a handy boon for the deific impersonator's allies, not to mention a hobble for their enemies, but the use of this ability is fraught with peril. You see, if enough people start to have problems drawing magic from a particular person, place, or thing of great power, they'll simply stop trying. Some entities may be indifferent to this, but others are working very hard to increase their influence, and may retaliate.

Whenever an ACTION roll to subvert another's entreaty fails, the Judge should make a die roll of their own, using this power rank. If the Judge achieves a red result, the entity so impersonated will learn not only that he/she/it has been impersonated, but who has been doing so. And this is very bad news for the impostor, as the entity they've been targeting just might take them to task for their perfidy!

Deionic Attack
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

Wielding this potent attack capability, a deific being can summon forth a high intensity pulse of power, comprised of the evolved life force which marks him or her as such an entity. This pulse takes the form of an energy attack, one which inflicts power rank Deionic damage with each deadly use, a type of assault that few individuals have the capability to resist in any manner.

A deionic attack functions anywhere within Near distance of its wielder, causing grievous damage to whatever it strikes - whether animate or otherwise. Furthermore, when wielded against any form of defense that is comprised of antideionic energies (a rarity, but still possible), a deionic attack will take on an Armor Piercing component, which further improves its effectiveness against the foes of a deific entity.

Deionic Control
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank

Deionic control is the powerful ability to actively manipulate the form and function of divine powers. These can be the actual powers of gods or demigods, theonic powers wielded by psis, or even abilities granted by a deity to his or her followers, such as priestly spells or holy boons. Deionic control can only affect the deific powers of others - not those wielded by its possessor.

If someone with deific powers or the effects of such are present within Near range of the character with deionic control, he or she can attempt to seize control of them. If attempting to use this ability on a deific power effect free of its creator's body, this only requires an ACTION roll against its intensity. If the power is not in use or is otherwise internalized to its target, its possessor is also allowed a Psyche (will) ACTION to resist.

Once the possessor of this ability has taken control of another person's deific power, he or she or she can do any number of things with it. However, deionic control actions require a second ACTION roll, based on how complicated its wielder's intentions are. Redirecting the target of a deific power (pointing an antideionic attack away from oneself, or 'borrowing' the fortuity of another) requires a green deionic control ACTION roll.

Activating or inactivating a functioning deific power requires a yellow ACTION. This can range from being a nuisance to downright lethal, depending on how vital the power being tinkered with is to the survival of its possessor at the moment. Yellow ACTIONs also allow one to change minor details of a power's nature somewhat (perhaps turning that antideionic attack into something the deionic controller is more resistant to, like apples).

A red power ACTION roll grants the deionic controller the ability to drastically alter the nature of a deific power, being able to turn it from any one divine ability into any other. This might transform a deionic attack into theonic amplification, or nature resistance into a theonic sense (possibly guaranteeing a spectacular demise for the target). Such applications are by far the most dangerous uses of deionic control - and the most lethal.

Luckily for the opponents of a deionic controller, the effects of this power are highly transient in nature. They only last as long as the deionic controller is actively concentrating upon his or her changes. Furthermore, each turn someone is subject to deionic control (perhaps the deionic controller is 'borrowing' their abilities for a while), they may attempt another ACTION roll to resist its use on their person.

Disengagement
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

Essentially the opposite of the omnipresence ability, disengagement is an ability immortals can use to extract themselves from a situation, no matter how dire it may be. The power, when activated, will remove a deific from wherever (or whenever, if time traveling) he or she currently happens to be, and will deposit them within their place of power - all with a simple green power ACTION roll.

Unless powers such as dimensional static or space control are acting to block it, that is, in which event disengagement requires an ACTION roll made against the offending ability in question.

The place of power that disengagement whisks a deionic entity to will default to the possessor of this power's most potent locale. A sanctuary will be first in line, followed by a realm, and finally the character's home plane if they lack either of the two previous destinations. Mind you, if a character is at risk within their sanctuary, this ability may not help them all that much!

E

Exaltation
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

Exaltation is the process of elevating the mortal beyond that state of affairs. One can only wield exaltation upon a willing individual, assuming sentience is even involved, and its possessor must pass a power ACTION roll against the target's Intuition (awr) score. Assuming all of these criteria are met, a deific being may then spend one hundred faith points to raise a body beyond their former, mortal self.

When a mortal's divine spark is lit, their life force experiences an evolution, one which transforms them into a demigod. Such a being might otherwise be normal, but this occurrence may serve as an 'origin' of sorts which causes other powers to manifest. Either way, a demigod begins his or her deific career with one 'spare' life - more must be acquired through hard work.

This work often comes in the form of extensive, exhaustive quests or tasks given to the new demigod by he or she that exalted them. These goals are given for two main reasons: to test the mettle and character of a would-be deity, and to fuel their ascension from demigod to god (acquire more 'spare' lives). Either way, such endeavors almost always further the goals of the character with this power.

Otherwise, why create more competition?

Such is the true danger of the exaltation power - to all immortals, everywhere. Before elevating a mortal to divine status, it might pay to ensure the recipient of this power's benefits will not betray its possessor down the line. If a god does not do the proper research on those he or she wishes to elevate well in advance, they may quickly find themselves hoist by their own, divine petard.

Note: when exaltation is successfully wielded on a character, they in turn acquire the apotheosis ability. This is a staggering boon for most folks, thus it is recommended that they pay the cost of acquiring that ability as they would any new power - soon, if not immediately. Assuming, of course, the Judge does not rule that the cost in faith paid by the wielder of this ability is sufficient.

F

Faith
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 5 points per rank

As a deific being begins to cultivate followers, adherents to their philosophies and way of life, the power of faith begins to flow from said followers into him or her. This potent spiritual energy can be used by the deific being to perform truly astonishing deeds, things which some might readily consider miraculous - and may subsequently help to generate even more faith in and of itself.

When invoking the power of faith, immortals may simulate any other power in the Costumed Adventurer Simulation Engine, per ultimate power. Each use of this power expends an amount of faith equal to the simulated ability's point cost, whether instantaneous or continuous in effect; to maintain the latter, deifics must pay the faith cost again every 1d10 turns. This applies unless a power has a different cost indicated; if so, use that instead.

The difficulty with this power is that faith is a somewhat rare commodity; the power of faith has the astounding ability to shape reality itself, but is slow in the accumulation.

While this ability can be used to do almost anything, as its wielder desires, one of the best ways to utilize faith is to reinvest the accumulated power of worship back towards one's followers. This is a tactic that can be utilized in both a beneficial and a harmful way - wielding either positive or negative reinforcement to bolster the faith that individuals have in the deific being.

For instance, a small town is generally following the teachings of a goddess' church, and as a reward, she offers them a great farming season (via the power of weather control) and great fortunes (via the power of luck). This is but one example of divine restitution, wielding the faith energy one's followers have granted her to reward them for their worship.

On the other hand, a town several miles down the road has begun to venerate another deific being. To show such worshipers the error of their ways, the goddess might send plagues (via the power of disease), scores of nasty pests (via the power of summoning) and violent storms (again, due to weather control), wreaking divine retribution with precision and care until her errant followers get the message.

Fortuity
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Most characters are bound by fate. What this means is that it is relatively easy to map their futures, either in the conventional sense or with specialized abilities that can peer through time. Fortuity, however, preserves a bit of random chance in the lives of its possessors - namely, by rendering them invisible, with power rank ability, to skills that can predetermine what they will or will not do.

Characters with fortuity may attempt an ACTION roll against abilities that another is attempting to use, whether intentionally or incidentally, to read their future. When this ACTION succeeds, such readings will tell nothing of the character or their presence in the period so viewed, which may seriously skew a prognostication - or even the use of more immediate powers, such as a danger sense.

Curiously, fortuity also has a deleterious effect on the seeming omniscience that deific entities possess within their divine realms. Fortuity will act with like ability against such deionic beings, which may prove to be quite the surprise to them when its possessor shows up on their doorstep!

G

Genesis
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

The power of genesis allows a deific being to create a realm of his or her own. This locale will serve as a place of power for the immortal, as well as a final resting place for the spirits of those who venerated him or her in their mortal lives. A deific being can plant the seed of this realm at a cost of one point of faith energy, dedicating a space equal, in cubic yards, to their power rank number.

When genesis is initially invoked, its wielder may declare that their realm will come in one of three separate forms. The first is a special area within another plane of existence, presumably the god's home plane. This portion of the original dimension will function similarly to the original, where the laws of physics are concerned, but may be modified slightly by the deific being upon creating it.

If the physical principles governing a realm are identical to those of the plane it resides within, one may not notice any difference upon crossing between the two. However, if a deity created his or her realm with somewhat different physics to contend with, individuals who pass from the 'normal' portion of the plane into their realm will be able to tell that something has changed - if not necessarily why.

The second form a realm can take is that of a pocket dimension, one which buds off of another plane - either one's home plane or a 'common ground' reality held by several different deionic entities. This dimensional pocket is adjacent to the original plane, and may function under the same laws of physics or considerably different principles, depending on the wishes of its creator.

Generally, a realm that takes this form will be more isolated than the first, since there is usually only one means of egress between it and its parent plane. Such realms often take the form of seemingly isolated valleys, underground fortifications, or even palaces in the sky - in short, hard to reach places. That's one advantage of such a dimensional pocket: one can more easily control entry into such a realm.

The third form a deity's realm can take is that of a distinct, independent universe. As its own space-time, a realm of this sort can function under any physical laws desired, though these must be set upon the plane's creation. The only limitation in creating highly divergent physics, however, is that one must ensure that they can survive conditions in their own place of power - otherwise, why bother?

This sort of holy space is completely isolated from 'normal' reality, and can only be reached by crossing the dimensions; one cannot simply walk to it from elsewhere. That is, unless the being who controls it creates some means of ingress and/or egress that mundane forms of travel can utilize - these doorways often take the form of fantastic trees, rivers, bridges, and so on - and are usually easy to activate or deactivate.

When creating an entirely new space to inhabit, a deionic entity may fill it with the appropriate inanimate matter as a function of its creation. This costs them no additional faith or exertion. Populating such a realm with new life forms, however, must be done separately - possibly with the organism generation or regenesis powers, or perhaps by physically importing them from elsewhere.

After its creation, an immortal's realm may be further expanded, as its creator sees fit. Each expansion costs a deific entity an additional faith point, but will add an amount of space equal to this power's rank number in cubic yards. If the rank of this power changes (whether it is increased or decreased), the size of the realm it has created will change, being recalculated based on the power's new rank.

Furthermore, additional space added to one's realm need not match the characteristics of the original. One's core realm might be firmly invested in their home town, while additional 'layers' of his or her realm might exist in offshoot dimensional pockets or even other planes entirely. This is a great way to create 'tiers' of an afterlife, sending followers to differing levels based on just how faithful they actually were.

Finally, the nature of one's realm of power need not be unchanging. Should the needs of a deionic entity change over time, he or she can reconfigure the laws of nature in their realm as circumstances require. This will cost them faith, however, the deity having to expend one point of such energy for each block of space they have created which needs to be reconfigured on a permanent basis.

While in one's realm, a deific character is vulnerable to permanent destruction - that is one of the great weaknesses of otherwise immortal beings. However, to offset this weakness, a deionic entity benefits from a +1 CS on all ACTION rolls they attempt while in their realm, thus making defeat on their home turf a much more difficult proposition - particularly if within their sanctuary itself... or if they also possess omnipotence.

I

Inculcation
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank

Via the power of inculcation, a deific being can impart the knowledge to cast priestly spells into their most dedicated followers. By spending one point of faith, a deionic entity may impart one rank of one spell into a follower. A follower may be given the ability to cast spells at any rank desired, as long as the appropriate amount of faith is expended, with an upper limit equal to the inculcation power rank.

Once an immortal's follower has been granted access to clerical magic, that sorcery may be advanced in one of two different fashions. First, a priest's patron deity may simply expend more faith to improve it directly - at a cost of one point of faith per rank so boosted. Alternately, a cleric may simply boost the ranks of their spells via their own Karma - which saves his or her deity energy in the long run.

Once a follower is given access to clerical magic in this fashion, the faith expended is lost forever. Even if a follower becomes apostate and their patron revokes their place amongst the faithful, the energies used to impart the knowledge of priestly spells may not be recovered. This because, while investment enhances a follower's body, inculcation expands the capabilities of their mind instead.

And once learned, a skill is virtually impossible to remove.

Investment
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 3 points per rank

Investment is the process of imbuing a living being with enhanced abilities and/or super-human powers. This can be a highly dangerous skill to possess, both because of its incredibly high demand and because you never know when one of your creations will betray you with the powers you granted them. Unlike the creation of empowered items, investing super-human powers into a living target is simple.

There is no mandatory preparation time involved, no special requirements one must quest for. While these make great potential limitations, they are by no means a necessity - the wielder of investment just invokes it and dishes out the enhancements. The entire process requires but two ACTION rolls, assuming the recipient is willing, and these ACTIONs determine the nature and the permanency of the invested enhancements.

The first ACTION is to determine what the wielder of investment may invest in his or her target. A green ACTION allows them to enhance any of their target's ability scores, up to their normal maximum. An example of this would be increasing one's Strength to Excellent (20), or their Agility to Incredible (40). A yellow ACTION allows for the creation of super-human ability scores - at least, as high as investment allows (see below).

A red investment ACTION allows for the creation of actual super-powers - anything from flight to laser beam eyes to... whatever, really. A character with investment may invest a number of powers into others equal to its rank number, all of which include their own super-human capabilities (aside from this one). It pays to determine these in advance, but this information isn't immediately vital.

The rank of a newly invested enhancement depends on the rank of investment itself. Invested ability enhancements have a maximum equal to the investment rank (with a minimum boost of +1 CS), while invested powers will manifest at the investment rank -1 CS. These values may naturally be raised by the recipient at a later point - assuming the new powers are permanent.

Otherwise, why bother?

The thing is, investment isn't always a good thing. Perhaps the wielder is trying to give people the power to transform the air around their bodies into antimatter - without any safeguards to avoid the impending explosions and radiation exposure. If used as an attack, or even if someone simply doesn't want what the investor is offering, they may resist by passing an Endurance (res) ACTION roll against the rank of investment.

At any rate, once the powers have been imbued into the target, it's time to figure out how long they'll last. A green ACTION roll will make imbued powers last for a number of days equal to the investment rank number. A yellow ACTION will extend this figure to weeks, and a red ACTION roll can make such abilities semi-permanent, allowing them to linger for a number of months equal to the investment rank number.

Assuming the investor does not remove the powers before that time has elapsed.

Mind you, a red investment ACTION can instead make permanent super-powers or other improvements in the target. This is entirely up to the Judge, and where player characters are concerned, may require they pay the Karma cost for these new abilities before they're considered permanent. If the Karmic books are not balanced in time, these abilities are subject to Plot.

As is the case with any other special abilities or equipment the character trips over during play.

As a theonic, investment can readily imbue its target with ascendant powers or ability score enhancements, but these cost the theonicist one point of faith per rank of the ability so invested. In exchange for being limited by this faith expenditure, abilities that deific beings grant with investment have no set duration, lingering for as long as the wielder of this power desires.

The faith spent to fuel investment is only 'spent' for as long as it is used to empower others. When revoked, investments return all of the faith used to create ability score enhancements or ascendant power grants to their source - save for one point. This lost point is considered the cost of rearranging reality twice: once to give another a boost, and twice to take it away again.

M

Macro Sense
Type: Superpsi Art, Theonic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank

This potent ability allows a character to tap into a vast external source of information. His or her mind may be privy to the nature of reality itself, or it might instead subconsciously link up with the knowledge of all other sentient beings. Either way, they can use this link to study a person, place, or thing of interest exhaustively, learning about the entire existence of the subject of their inquiry.

The amount of information that this power can cull from... wherever... is typically overwhelming, no matter how specific a query may at first seem to be. Finding general or simple information about a subject requires a green ACTION, while more complex and intimate details may take a yellow ACTION roll. A red ACTION might even be required for particularly obscure, arcane, or secret and forbidden lore.

One thing a character with macro sense can do without an ACTION roll is track extremely powerful entities in his or her area. They will automatically sense sources of Class 1000 or greater power within their vicinity, as determined by the Far range table.

Macro sense is a very potent ability, and often allows a character to know things that 'man was not meant to know'. While incredibly handy, this access to unbelievable amounts of data can have a chilling effect on one's mind. In addition to causing tendencies of omniscience (and why not, really), macro sense can actually prove a threat to one's sanity if it is used too much in a short period of time.

The 'safe' amount of use for macro sense is once a day, plus one for every rank of Reason a character has over Feeble (2). A hero with Remarkable (30) ranked Reason, then, can use this ability six times in one day without causing themselves undue harm. If this amount is exceeded, the Judge may make a secret Reason ACTION roll for the character. If it fails, the character might slip into temporary insanity.

Driven mad after being inundated with too much data, the character may drift into catatonic withdrawal - or just ceaselessly gibber at anyone they see. Typically, this madness will only last until the character falls unconscious, allowing their mind to process everything it has been exposed to (or at least some of it). But repeated abuse of the power can cause the generation of deleterious mental Quirks - or worse!

Mortal Guise
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

By enshrouding themselves within a mortal guise, a character with deific abilities may mask all traces of such from onlookers. This ability is part invisibility and part illusion, for it will make its wielder appear, in the mind of those observing them, to be a perfectly normal individual. This is particularly handy if an immortal being is visually distinct as compared to his or her many followers.

This power works on mortals as well as deific beings. The former, if they do not fail an Intuition (alt) ACTION roll against the deific invisibility power rank, can see the wielder of this power in their true form - but won't sense any deionic powers unless their use is obvious to their standard senses (flashes of light, et cetera). Deific beings, if they are not stymied by this power, can perceive its wielder's true nature.

Assuming they were at all trying to determine such, that is.

N

Nature Resistance
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

A variation on the greater resistance ability, nature resistance provides its possessor protection against a wide swath of damage types. Nature resistance will shield its owner with power rank defense against any form of damage extant in the environment, as long as its cause, no matter how indirectly, has nothing to do with the actions of sentient beings.

For example, a character with nature resistance walks into a raging forest fire. If this forest fire were caused by a lightning strike, they would benefit from their full power rank in protection from the resultant flames. However, should said fire be ignited by the careless actions of negligent campers, the bearer of nature resistance will find themselves subject to the full damage inflicted by the burning forest.

The net effect of nature resistance is that the powerful beings which possess it may exempt themselves, in part or in full, from true acts of nature. Thus, the key to nature resistance is to determine whether or not the hand of intelligent beings (no matter how minimally) is at play before one can benefit from it. Which can sometimes be tricky in a world full of technology!

O

Omnipotence
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Many faiths hold great stock in the omnipotence of their patron deity or deities - the idea that they are all-powerful. While it is primarily up to a deific being to wield his or her other abilities in a fashion that fosters this belief, they can much more readily simulate this tendency while in their places of power. Whether one occupies their realm or sanctuary, an immortal can use omnipotence to great effect.

Wielding this ability, deific beings can eavesdrop on each and every square inch of their realm and/or sanctuary. Within this space, a deific being may make use of any of the five clairsentience abilities as he or she sees fit, unlimited by range. This allows such entities, if they are paying attention, to know all that occurs within their territories... and to act swiftly if such occurrences are not to their liking.

Furthermore, such retribution, or in fact any other actions a deific being attempts, are made at a +1 CS while on their home turf. This increase is provided on top of any other bonuses such characters receive due to being in their sanctuary or realm. In fact, when the bonuses from all three powers are combined, one may be hard pressed to argue against the omnipotence of a deific being!

Omnipresence
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

Many faiths hold great stock in the ubiquity of their patron deity or deities - believing that they exist everywhere at once. Using the power of omnipresence, a deific being can at least simulate this tendency. How this ability works is that, in response to the prayers of those who venerate him or her, a deific being can directly manifest at a follower's side - no matter where in the multiverse that follower may be.

The wielder of this power, upon being entreated by a follower, may use that follower's faith as a channel to transport themselves from their current location to within Very Near distance of him or her. Distance and dimension are no barrier to the use of omnipresence, for the power of faith is enough to overcome even the greatest of spatial impediments - and even those of a temporal nature, if a follower is traveling through time.

Manifesting before a follower requires but a green power ACTION roll. However, it is important to note that, in and of itself, omnipresence is a one-way travel power; a deific being must use other abilities to return from whence they came after wielding it.

Omniscience
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Many faiths hold great stock in the omniscience of their patron deity or deities - their ability to see all and know all. This ability is a good reason for such beliefs, as a deific being can use the power of a follower's faith to home in on them and observe their surroundings. Furthermore, a god can eavesdrop on the sensory input that a follower experiences at any point in time, if not their actual thoughts.

Omniscience in and of itself has no actual range limitations to speak of - it works wherever one's followers may be, regardless of the spatial or even dimensional boundaries between a deific being and those who venerate him or her. However, the power is limited to a short distance around said followers; a deific being can only observe the area within Very Near distance of one of their faithful.

Organism Generation
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 3 points per rank

Organism generation is the power to create life itself - from seeming nothingness! Weaving one's personal energies together with ambient subatomic particles, a character with this power can actually generate fully formed organisms. The creations of this power can be alive or dead, as the organism generator desires, with each state of being having its own, particular uses in the grand scheme of things.

Characters with organism generation can use it to manifest a number of pounds, each turn, which is equal to their power rank number. To build a creature that is of greater size than this amount, an organism generator must spend multiple turns bringing it into existence. With Excellent (20) organism generation, for example, creating a one hundred and fifty pound clone of oneself would take eight turns.

When building a new life form from scratch, an organism generator generally need only make a green power ACTION roll initially, upon spending the required time to do so. This assumes a conventional life form, however. If 'making up' an entirely new life form, this ACTION is yellow in hue, and if attempting to create life using a strain of chemistry unknown to modern science, the required ACTION roll is of red difficulty.

One problem with this power, such as it is, is that its use is highly strenuous on the body. The personal energy lost with organism generation's use is equal to one Health point per turn, which isn't such a big deal when one is building small life forms, but can add up fast when you're trying to make a humpback whale. This Health loss must be recovered in whatever fashion is normal for the organism generator.

Another difficulty posed by organism generation is the potential transience of its creations. A white ACTION makes them last for a number of turns equal to this power rank number, a green ACTION lets an organism exist for a number of minutes equal to this power rank number, and a yellow ACTION allows a created being to persist for a number of hours equal to this power's rank number.

If one makes a red power ACTION roll upon the completion of a life form, it is considered a permanent entity. It will not discorporate at any point in the future - at least, not due to circumstances extant when organism generation brought it into existence. Such life forms can be slain normally if brought into existence in a living state, or can decompose if manifested in a freshly deceased state.

Organism generation functions within Very Near distance of its wielder, and then only within his or her direct line-of-sight. Wielding this power at Typical (6) ability, for example, would allow its possessor to generate life anywhere within six yards of their person - assuming nothing lies between them and where they would like to make it. Such beings have no inherent velocity, but gravity definitely affects them immediately.

To generate an organism, this power's wielder must generally understand its biology. This requires 'memorizing' a life form, each form of such counting as one 'slot' in an organism generator's memory (of which he or she has a number equal to their Reason (mem) score) - unless they possess eidetic memory, that is. If one's memory is 'full' when trying to memorize a new form of life to create, they need only drop another.

Entities created by this power will generally behave as a normal member of their species should, though they will lack any memories to speak of - unless their creator has a mind handy to copy or transfer into it. Doing this requires the requisite powers involved with such; otherwise, the creations of organism generation are a blank slate, who only possess knowledge gained after their manifestation in the world.

Organism Generation is an expensive power, but may be taken with a variety of limitations to reduce that cost somewhat - on top of those that are already indicated above, that is. One such (extreme) limitation involves preventing the power from making more than one kind of creature - say, it can only make bats (or whatever). Another (weak) limitation might remove the potential of permanency from one's creations entirely.

P

Plenipotentiary
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Using the power of faith, a deific being can reach through space (and even time, if a follower travels through such) to the vicinity of those who venerate him, her, or it. The channel of spectral energy that fuels their might allows a deionic entity to wield their powers within Very Near distance of those who venerate them, regardless of the distances or dimensions between a worshiper and the worshiped.

This is similar to the proxy power, in that it allows a body to use their abilities remotely, via a designated target. Plenipotentiary differs from proxy, however, in that it doesn't act through the follower but instead through the channel of faith energy they generate. Thus, a deity's power effects can manifest within the stated range without implicating a follower - or can even target him or her directly!

Effects remotely manifested in this fashion cannot exceed the plenipotentiary power rank.

This ability allows a deionic entity to perform seeming miracles, or otherwise answer the requests of their followers, without using up valuable faith. Sure, faith can be expended thanks to this power (perhaps via the actual faith ability), but immortals can simply use ordinary powers they possess within range as well thanks to plenipotentiary, thus preserving accumulated faith for (to them) more important matters.

R

Regenesis
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

When the followers of a deific being shuffle off this mortal coil, their souls have to go somewhere. Generally, they will home in on the sanctuary - or at least the realm - of their patron entity. For them to be capable of action in the afterlife, however, they need to be given a new body. Using regenesis, a deionic entity can provide just that for those who have venerated him or her in their lives.

A highly specialized version of the organism generation power, regenesis can build new forms for the departed souls of one's followers to inhabit. A god has ultimate control over the shape and capability of these new physical forms, and can cater them to his or her own, unique religious dogmas; obedient followers might take on beautiful forms, while disobedient worshipers might instead adopt a monstrous visage. Or whatever.

When creating these new bodies for their most ardent of supporters, a deific being may do so relatively inexpensively. These bodies cost one point of faith energy to fashion, but one need only spend an additional point for each rank of physical ability above Typical (6), as well as one point for each rank in each inherent power the follower's new form will have access to.

Such granted abilities and powers are limited in might, of course, to the regenesis power rank.

On the other hand, the recently departed's new form retains whatever mental statistics he or she possessed in life. Furthermore, if a follower's soul is permitted the memories they possessed before their demise, they will also have access to any talents and talent-like powers they had mastered over the course of their lifetime. This is a great way to drastically increase the might of one's afterlife army!

When building a new body for his or her followers, a deific being need only roll a green power ACTION. However, it takes time to forge a new form for a detached soul; one can only generate an amount of living matter with this ability, in pounds, equal to their power rank number each turn. Thus, building a two hundred pound body with an Incredible (40) ranked regenesis would require five full turns.

As are all other matter generation abilities, regenesis is highly strenuous on the body. The personal energies lost with each turn of regenesis' use is equal to one Health point per turn, which isn't such a big deal when one is building small bodies for one's followers to inhabit, but can add up fast when you're trying to make giants. This Health loss must be recovered in whatever fashion is normal for the wielder of regenesis.

Unless, of course, they substitute an additional point of faith to bypass the Health point penalty, as is their option.

Revival
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank

This is the root ability of the theonic discipline of power.

This power describes the capability to return to life upon one's untimely demise - most of the time, anyway. While not quite immortality, revival is a means by which one's body attempts to 'jump-start' itself in the event of its death. Upon dying, the body makes a rapid and serious attempt to repair fatal damage, replace missing tissues, and otherwise restore itself to a condition that can support a continued existence.

The difficulty of this depends on the nature of one's demise. If the vast majority of one's body is present (save for blood or minor chunks lost in a bullet blowout), a green ACTION will resuscitate the fallen character. A yellow ACTION is necessary if some larger chunks are missing but, you know, most vital bits remain. A red revival ACTION is usually necessary when just under half of the original body remains.

More serious damage is usually an impossible ACTION to recover from, unless the Judge is feeling generous. The main thing, though, is that this ACTION is made upon one's death - which means, being dead, the character has no Karma to spend on the revival check. That's why this power is not true immortality; even if you have it, and have it at a respectable rank, you can still die (permanently) from a bad die roll.

One important point to consider regarding revival is that it does sometimes allow for the resuscitation of one's body from significantly smaller portions of itself. It's possible that, in cases of extreme mutilation, more than one chunk of a character's body can revive, becoming two (or more) complete selves. These new 'clones' are treated as NPCs, but should mirror the original character's behavior.

At least, until the point of their divergence.

S

Sanctuary
Type: Theonic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

A sanctuary is a small space, above all others, that a deific being can readily identify as their home. Such a location is usually nestled within some extant plane, unless it is built into a new space created by said deific entity, like a universe made with the genesis power. Either way, one's sanctuary is initially small, being no larger than a number of cubic yards equal to the sanctuary power rank number.

However, one's sanctuary need not remain this size. Much like one can with their realm of power, a deific being can expand the size of their sanctuary if desired, though this requires the use of faith. For each point of faith spent on one's sanctuary, a deionicist can add a number of cubic yards to it that is equal to their power rank number; if the rank of this power ever changes, recalculate a sanctuary's size accordingly.

The advantages of establishing a sanctuary are many. Having a sanctuary on one's home plane (or realm, if one is maintained) will reduce an immortal's vulnerability to permanent death such that it can only happen within, their other weaknesses notwithstanding. This alone makes having a sanctuary worthwhile, but a deific also gains the benefit of a +1 CS on all ACTION rolls attempted while within such a space.

When combined with the bonuses granted by the genesis and omnipotence powers, this makes a deionic entity vastly powerful within their sanctuary - even if it's where they're most vulnerable to being slain.

Signature Power
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: varies, depending on the signature power's nature
Cost: equal to the power simulated, when enhanced to an extreme degree

A signature power is a trademark capability of sorts, something a deific being is known - or perhaps even worshiped - for. Once a would-be deity has chosen the metaphysical profile they wish to represent, he or she can then manifest a single signature power all their own. This power can be virtually any ability in the Costumed Adventurer Simulation Engine - save for of course ultimate power, which is in a class unto itself.

The difference between other characters with this power and the deific being, however, is that it is more effective in the latter's hands. A power that inflicts damage will be upgraded such that it inflicts Deionic harm; for example, fire generation, which normally inflicts the SD Energy damage associated with flames, would be improved such that it will instead deliver SD Deionic damage with each use.

A power which doesn't directly inflict damage will similarly be upgraded - usually to an extreme degree. A character may well be venerated for their use of this power, after all, which means it needs to be truly exceptional in effect. Perhaps clairvoyance or teleportation functions without range, or maybe device generation can create objects without their permanence ever coming into question.

That kind of thing.

Thus, when a character first acquires his or her signature power, it must be accounted for as if it were an extremely enhanced version of the standard ability - whether during character generation or when adopted later on. This will increase the cost of the power accordingly, but will usually be worth the price. After all, the best way to bolster the faith one's followers feel is with actual demonstrations of one's ability!

T

Theonic Absorption
Type: Theonic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank

Theonic absorption is the ability to draw ambient deionic energies into oneself. When exposed to direct deific forces of some sort, or perhaps when targeted by a variety of clerical spells or abilities granted by divine investment, theonic absorption allows its possessor to appropriate the power involved. By soaking up godly energy, the absorber can prevent it from harming either themselves or others.

The thing to keep in mind is that theonic absorption only works on direct deific energy. One could absorb the energy of a priestly eldritch bolt of ice or an actual deionic attack, but not the force of an automobile hurled with a signature telekinesis power. A good rule of thumb is that if it doesn't intimately interact with its target, theonic absorption may not be used to absorb the power of a deific attack ability.

At one time, an absorber can internalize an amount of energy equal to this ability's rank number; superfluous amounts inflict damage normally. On the other hand, the character can store an amount of energy equal to their power rank number times five. If one attempts to absorb more energy than he or she can contain, this power functions normally, but any excess energies are lost.

Wielding this pool of power, a theonic absorber can produce a variety of useful effects whenever the need arises. They may use it to replenish lost Health, doing so on a point-per-point basis. In fact, if one's Health is at its normal maximum, a theonic absorber can 'pad' it with absorbed energy, doing so until their Health is at up to twice the sum of their Fighting, Agility, Strength, and Endurance scores.

One can also use absorbed power to bolster their physical ability scores, shunting purloined deific energies into their Fighting, Agility, Strength, or Endurance on a point-per-point basis, raising them either to this power rank in effectiveness (if less than the theonic absorption rank) or by +1 CS (if equal to or greater than the theonic absorption rank). Such enhancements only last for 1d10 turns.

Finally, absorbed deific energy can be directly released back into the environment - as a devastating attack! One can emit absorbed divine energy as 'generic' deionic attacks, doing so at an intensity equal to this ability's rank, and consuming that much power with each use. This attack form manifests as a physical (and visible) burst of power, one which inflicts Deionic damage upon whoever it strikes.

Theonic Amplification
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank

Theonic amplification allows its wielder to boost the effectiveness of another's deific abilities, whether inherent or granted, for a short period of time. When triggered, it will raise the effective rank of any one deionic ability another person possesses, increasing it to either the theonic amplification rank or the deific power's ordinary rank +1 CS, whichever of the two happens to be higher at the time.

This power works within Very Near distance of its wielder, and it may only affect one power at a time. It lasts for 1d10 turns, unless the effect is specifically maintained longer.

Once it wears off, theonic amplification may not be used on the same target for one hour - without degrading its relative effectiveness, that is. For each additional use on a single target without a one hour 'cool down', theonic amplification loses -1 CS of its potency for them. This is enough to neutralize its use upon powers more potent than itself, while more gradually reducing its use in other instances.

Theonic Attenuation
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank

Theonic attenuation is the ability to stifle the operational rank of one or more deific powers, inherent or granted, in one's vicinity. This power works on targets within Near range of its possessor, and the effects of the power last for only 1d10 turns, unless it is specifically maintained on a target for a longer period of time - which may be necessary to keep them from smiting a body for this transgression.

Theonic attenuation works simply by deciding which divine ability to dampen, and then applying this power. Targets of this ability may attempt an ACTION with the power to be attenuated; if they can match theonic attenuation's intensity, they successfully resist it. If victorious, the attenuator may apply one negative Column Shift to the targeted power for each rank they have in this ability, negating it when reducing it to Shift 0.

For example, let us consider a theonic attenuator who has this ability at Unearthly (100) rank. She's fighting a divine opponent with an unpredictable habit of reconfiguring local causality with her Monstrous (75) ranked faith power. When using theonic attenuation on this foe, our hero can completely negate her faith ability if the target cannot pass a red power ACTION roll against this superior assault on her godly might.

A versatile power, theonic attenuation can be wielded against multiple powers - whether they belong to one character or many. The trick, though, is that each doubling (always rounding up) of powers so dampened reduces the effective rank of theonic attenuation by -1 CS - both for the purposes of overcoming the powers it is used against, and the maximum number of Column Shifts it can inflict upon them.

Returning to our example, say the foe of our theonic attenuator has seven powers - and will readily use the others on our hero once her faith falters. The theonic attenuator instead uses her ability against all of her foe's divine tricks, and (again assuming she fails to resist) will reduce all her powers by -7 CS in rank. She can maybe use some powers, but those that fail to resist are now much less dangerous.

An attenuator can reduce this penalty somewhat by attempting to hamper less of a power's ranks than their maximum. For each -2 CS he or she chooses not to apply to the powers they are attacking, an attenuator can prevent the operating rank of this power from losing -1 CS of its overall effectiveness. This may not completely neutralize their foes, but allows an attenuator to 'even the playing field' considerably.

In time, the better half of a pantheon gangs up on our heroine, sick and tired of her incessant, heretical meddling. The theonic attenuator may dull one power on each of her sixteen foes, though this reduces her effectiveness by -4 CS, allowing her only -6 CS of attenuation. By reducing her overall attenuation effect to only -4 CS, our heroic attenuator can attempt this action with but a -3 CS penalty.

Splitting one's focus to attenuate multiple theonics in this fashion tends to make this ability fail more often than not, however, unless they have it at a particularly high rank - which may just make it easier to go with some form of antideionic attack, instead. On the other hand, that option tends to make a body an even greater target of divine retribution than a mere theonic attenuator!

Theonic Invisibility
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

The power of theonic invisibility acts to mask its possessor from the ascendant sensory abilities possessed by deific beings. While such an entity could easily spot a theonically invisible individual with their own eyes, this power will effectively shield him or her from detection by any enhanced senses said entity might bring to bear - which is a great way to avoid their wrath, when you get down to it.

This invisibility extends to the faith-based powers any followers of deific beings may wield. These abilities include priestly spells such a worshiper may possess, special powers invested within the faithful (either temporarily or permanently), or even one-shot effects granted by deific boon. If a follower interacts with a theonically invisible person, a deific entity can sense such interaction, just not who it is with.

Unless, that is, they can pass an ACTION roll with whatever sensory ability they are using, opposed by theonic invisibility's power rank.

Theonic Sense
Type: Theonic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

This sensory ability allows its possessor an awareness of all deionic forces present within his or her immediate area, as defined by the Near range table. Such forces can come in the form of mortal characters wielding theonic energies (deionicists, clericists), artifacts forged by gods possibly long since lost to modern knowledge, or perhaps even honest to goodness immortal beings.

Generally, only a green power ACTION roll is required to sense deionic objects, energies, or entities in one's vicinity; they tend to stand out, after all. However, certain abilities act to mask a theonic presence, such as mortal guise. One must pass a power ACTION roll against the intensity of such deific abilities to detect that their wielder is present - at least, with this sensory power.

Return to the Manual of the Psi!