Occult Charms

Essence 1

Spirit-Manifesting Word

Prerequisites Occult 2, Essence 1
Cost 1m; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Requirement You have an immaterial spirit ally with you.

One of your immaterial spirit allies may materialize for free without requiring an action.

Terrestrial Circle Sorcery

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1
Permanent

You can learn and cast Terrestrial Circle spells and participate in appropriate sorcerous workings. You learn one shaping ritual and one Terrestrial spell for free. This first Terrestrial spell becomes a control spell for you.

You also gain the Thaumaturgist Merit for free.

Spirit-Detecting Glance

Prerequisites Occult 1, Essence 1
Cost 3m; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene

You can see (but not touch) immaterial spirits.

Uncanny Perception Technique

Prerequisites Occult 2, Essence 1, Spirit-Detecting Glance
Cost —; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement A spirit or Fair Folk is within range of your senses (whether material or not).

You experience a synaesthetic sensory phenomena that alerts you to the presence of the spirit or Fair Folk. Any attempt you make in the same scene to notice this being with Awareness gets +(Occult ÷ 2, rounded up).

Ancient Tongue Understanding1

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1
Cost 6m; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene

You speak and understand Old Realm and old and obscure spirit languages, but can’t speak or understand other languages. You get +(half Essence, rounded down, minimum 1)s to Occult rolls and shaping actions.

Upgrade (Six Eternities’ Travail—Occult 5, Essence 2): If you increase the Cost by 1wp, your Occult rolls also get an additional die for each 10 rolled, including on the additional dice, for up to (Essence) total additional dice.

Keen Unnatural Eye

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1, Uncanny Perception Technique
Permanent

Whenever you use the Tracking action to track a spirit, or the Case Scene action in relation to a spirit’s actions, you get +(Essence or 3, whichever is greater) to the roll.

Spirit-Cutting Attack2

Prerequisites Occult 2, Essence 1, Spirit-Detecting Glance
Cost 1m; Supplements attack against an immaterial spirit; Duration Instant

The supplemented attack can hit and damage immaterial spirits normally.

If you’re not benefiting from Spirit-Detecting Glance or a similar effect in regards to the spirit, the supplemented attack gets -3 to the attack roll.

Uncanny Shroud Defense

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1, Spirit-Cutting Attack
Cost 6m; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement You are dealt damage that would remove your last health level, and you’re not on your last uninjured health level.

You don’t lose your last health level (but other damage levels aren’t affected).

Spirit-Draining Stance

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1, Spirit-Cutting Attack
Cost 5m; Action Simple; Duration One scene

Your successful withering attacks against spirits add 1 automatic level of damage.

Unlock (Occult, Essence 2): You can choose for a successful withering attack against a spirit to instead cause the spirit to lose 1m when damage is dealt, which you gain.

Ghost-Eating Technique3

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 1, Spirit-Cutting Attack
Cost 3m; Supplements decisive attack against a spirit; Duration Instant

The supplemented attack deals aggravated damage to spirits, and causes spirits to lose (highest wound penalty inflicted by attack)m from spirits, which you then gain.

If the supplemented attack kills a spirit, the spirit is destroyed permanently, and gain (your Essence + spirit’s Essence)m.

Phantom-Seizing Strike2

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 1, Ghost-Eating Technique
Cost 1m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement You hit an immaterial spirit with an attack supplemented by Spirit-Cutting Attack, and the attack’s damage roll gets at least 1 success.

The immaterial spirit becomes material for two turns.

Spirit-Slaying Stance

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 1, Phantom-Seizing Strike
Cost 3m; Action Simple; Duration One scene

Your attacks against spirits get +(Essence) to the attack roll.

Supernal Control Method4

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 1, Ancient Tongue Understanding
Cost —; Supplements Occult roll (1/scene); Duration Instant

The supplemented roll benefits from a a free full Occult Excellency.

Reset: Raise your anima to iconic, then reduce it to dim.

Essence 2

All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight[^changed-duration]1

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 2, Spirit-Detecting Glance
Cost 4m; Action Reflexive; Duration One turn
Keywords Non-Committed

You can see immaterial spirits and invisible or immaterial ongoing sorcerous effects. You can also see the borders of shadowlands and Wyld areas and the entrances to spirit sanctums.

You can roll (Intelligence + Occult) at a difficulty of (effect’s Essence) to determine the details of a shaping action, an ongoing sorcerous effect, or an Evocation.

Upgrade (“Burning Eye of the Deliverer”—Occult 5, Essence 3): You can also potentially see through magical disguises, shapeshifting, or other magic that makes a character appear different. This requires a successful Awareness roll with +(Essence)s against a difficulty set by the Disguise action or against difficulty 5.

Carnal Spirit Rending[^changed-duration]

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 2, Ghost-Eating Technique
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene
Keywords Non-Committed
Requirement You permanently destroy a spirit with Ghost-Eating Technique.

You gain (Essence) powers or traits based on the nature of the destroyed spirit, as determined by the ST. These powers may be ones that can’t normally be learned by a Solar, but you can’t gain any with a prerequisite rating higher than (your Essence + 2).

Burning Exorcism Technique

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 2, Carnal Spirit Rending
Cost 3m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant Requirement You have a subject who is possessed by a spirit or suffering from a magical disease.

Roll (Wits + Occult) against the Resolve of the possessing spirit or the morbidity of the magical disease.

If you succeed and the possessing spirit or magical disease has an Essence greater than yours, it is forced out of the subject and can’t return for a season.

If you succeed and the possessing spirit or magical disease has an Essence equal to or lower than yours, it is forced out of the subject and is stored harmlessly and helplessly in your anima until you decide to release it.

You can have up to (Essence) spirits or magical diseases stored in your anima with this Charm. If you try to capture more than that, any extra are set free, as if they had greater Essence than you.

Breath-Drinker Method3

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 2, Spirit-Draining Stance
Cost 4i; Supplements decisive attack Duration Instant

If the supplemented attack deals damage to a spirit, the spirit loses (health levels damaged)m and you gain (health levels damaged)m, both to a maximum of (your Essence × 2)m.

Spirit-Repelling Diagram

Prerequisites Occult 3, Essence 2, Spirit-Cutting Attack
Cost 6m; Action Simple; Duration One scene

You create a magical circle that extends out from where you’re standing to short range, and lasts for the duration. Roll (Wits + Occult) against the Resolve of each spirit inside the circle, with +(Essence) against normal spirits or +(Essence)s against creatures of darkness. You automatically succeed against any spirits with Essence equal to or lower than your Essence. Any spirits you succeed against must immediately materialize or leave the circle.

Any spirits with Essence equal to or lower than yours, or that were forced to leave the circle, can’t attack characters inside the circle while outside it.

Nine Specters Ban

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 2, Spirit-Repelling Diagram, Uncanny Shroud Defense
Cost 4m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene

Any attack against you by an immaterial being costs an extra 1wp to make.

Spirit-Caging Mandala1

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 2, Spirit-Repelling Diagram
Cost 10m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Varies

Choose a spirit at up two range bands from you. You create a magical circle around that spirit. While in the circle, the spirit is treated as material (even if immaterial), and can only attack beyond close range if its target attacked it first.

Roll (Wits + Occult) against a difficulty of the spirit’s Essence. The spirit can’t leave the circle for (threshold successes + 1) turns. Each time you get at least 1 success, repeat the process starting with the roll, except the difficulty gets a cumulative +1.

If you move more than two range bands away from the spirit, the duration ends and the spirit is freed.

Upgrade (Wyld-Binding Prana—Occult 5, Essence 3): You can also use this Charm against immaterial Fair Folk as though they were spirits.

Upgrade (Spirit-Draining Mudra—Occult 5, Essence 3): Whenever you’ve trapped a spirit using this Charm, the Cost of your Occult Charms is reduced by (being’s Essence), and your shaping actions are treated as gathering (being’s Essence) extra sorcerous motes. The spirit’s mote pool is reduced by the same amount.

Upgrade (Demon-Compelling Noose—Occult 5, Essence 3, Spirit-Draining Mudra): When you use non-Occult social influence on a spirit you’ve trapped using this Charm, you get +1s to the roll and the spirit gets -1 Resolve. If the spirit is a creature of darkness, this increases to +1s and -2 respectively.

Material Exegesis Prana

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 2, Spirit-Manifesting Word
Cost 3m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant

Roll (Wits + Occult). For each success, you can choose one immaterial familiar spirit or sorcerously bound demon to materialize for free without an action. If your roll result includes exactly three sixes, all familiar spirits and sorcerously bound demons of your choice can materialize at once, and you get 2wp.

Dark-Minder’s Observances

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 2, Ancient Tongue Understanding Permanent

You can learn up to (Essence) thaumaturgic rituals without paying XP.

Essence 3

Celestial Circle Sorcery

Prerequisites Occult 4, Essence 3, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Permanent
Keywords Supernal-No

You can learn and cast Celestial Circle spells and participate in appropriate sorcerous workings. You learn one shaping ritual and one Celestial spell for free. This first Celestial spell becomes a control spell for you.

Soul Projection Method41

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 3, Burning Exorcism Technique
Cost 6m; Action Dramatic; Duration Instant
Keywords Touch

Roll (Wits + Occult) against the Resolve of a touched target, applying Intimacies as if it were a social influence roll. If you succeed, you and the target both become inactive as the Dramatic action happens. You may use this to perform an ST-determined dramatic feat as appropriate to the target’s nature and condition, or to subject the target to possession by a spirit or infection by a magical disease that you previously captured using Burning Exorcism Technique.

Upgrade (Immortal Soul Vigil—Occult 5, Essence 4): You may use this Charm to enter the psyche of the target instead of the normal effect. You experience the target’s dreams and memories and can use Awareness, Investigation, and Occult to examine them further. If you discover definitive evidence of a spirit interacting with or affecting the target, you can commit 7m to immaterially project yourself to that spirit’s current location in the real world, using your current traits (including gear on your person).

In this state, you’re treated like an immaterial being. If the spirit is material or materializes, you can use your Charms that affect immaterial beings to interact with it (but not other material beings). Your body remains in an inactive and helpless trance state while you’re projected like this. You return to your body when you decommit the 7m.

What Light Reveals (Living Specter’s Flame)

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 3, Burning Exorcism Technique
Cost 6m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene
Requirement You have a spirit familiar.

Chose two major Charms, and ([Essence ÷ 2, rounded up] + 1) minor Charms, from spirits you have captured with Burning Exorcism Technique or from Charms you have learned using Carnal Spirit Rending, Gloaming Eye Understanding, or Divine Mantle.

While your anima is at the glowing level, it can use (Essence ÷ 2, rounded up) of the chosen minor Charms.

While your anima is at the burning level, it can also use one of the chosen major Charms.

While your anima is at the iconic level, it can use all of the chosen Charms.

Anima-Suffused Spirit

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 3, Material Exegesis Prana
Cost 1m + (2 × X)m, Xa; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement You have a spirit familiar, a summoned elemental, or a sorcerously-bound demon.

One of your spirit familiars, summoned elementals, or sorcerously-bound demons is healed X health levels.

All Souls Benediction

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 3, Material Exegesis Prana
Cost 16m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration One scene
Keywords Non-Committed

Every spirit or immaterial being within six range bands of you rolls (Wits + Dodge) at a difficulty of (your temporary Willpower + your Essence). Each that fails is forced to immediately materialize for free without using an action, and may not dematerialize for the duration. You may allow specific beings to dematerialize.

If a ghost would be forced to materialize by this Charm, it may instead immediately enter Lethe and face reincarnation.

Gloaming Eye Understanding

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 3, Dark-Minder’s Observances
Cost 3m; Action Reflexive; Duration Indefinite
Keywords Stackable (Essence)

You can learn a spirit Charm that could be learned by an Eclipse Caste Solar. You learn this Charm as normal, except you don’t need to satisfy Charm prerequisites, and don’t pay any xp for it. If you end commitment to this Charm, you lose the learned Charm.

Sorcerer’s Burning Chakra

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 4, All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight (Burning Eye of the Deliverer)
Permanent

Whenever you are at iconic anima, you are treated as having All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight active.

Whenever you have Spirit-Detecting Glance and All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight active at the same time, you can roll (Attribute + Occult) at a difficulty of (spirit’s Essence) to determine the nature and Essence rating of a spirit.

Spirit-Shredding Exorcism

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 4, Spirit-Caging Mandala (Spirit-Draining Mudra)
Cost 7m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement You’ve trapped a spirit with Spirit-Caging Mandala.

Roll (Intelligence + Occult) against the spirit’s Resolve. If you succeed, the spirit’s Essence is reduced by 1 until it escapes, and the difficulty of the roll to prevent escape is reset to (spirit’s new Essence). You can only apply this effect once against a given trapped spirit.

If you reduce the spirit’s Essence to 0, the spirit becomes unable to act until it escapes.

Essence 5

Spirit-Drawing Oculus

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 5, Sorcerer’s Burning Chakra
Cost 1wp, 3a; Action Reflexive (1/day); Duration Instant
Requirement Your anima is iconic.

Your anima is reduced to dim. Roll (Perception + Occult) with a full free Occult Excellency. You gain (successes)m. These motes must be spent on Craft, Investigation, Medicine, Lore, or Occult Charms, or spent to add an equal amount to the sorcerous mote total of a shaping action.

Ephemeral Induction Technique

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 5, Carnal Spirit Rending, Gloaming Eye Understanding, Spirit-Caging Mandala (Wyld-Binding Prana)
Cost 20m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Keywords Mute
Requirement You don’t currently have a familiar created with this Charm.

You create a spirit or one of the Fair Folk. This being has an Essence of (your Essence) and XP of (your XP ÷ 2) and begins with the basic spirit Charms or basic Fair Folk powers. You choose the being’s details based on its Essence, on the nature of your surroundings, and on the nature of any spirits of your choice that you’ve captured with Burning Exorcism Technique or absorbed with Carnal Spirit Rending. The ST approves the being’s final stats, Intimacies, Charms, and unique powers (if any).

The being becomes your familiar (see the Familiar merit). One season after you use this Charm, and each season after that, you choose whether the being remains your familiar or is released. If you release it, it stops being your familiar and may leave if it wishes. While it’s your familiar, the being gains XP as normal.

Solar Circle Sorcery

Prerequisites Occult 5, Essence 5, Celestial Circle Sorcery
Permanent
Keywords Supernal-No

You can learn and cast Solar Circle spells and participate in appropriate sorcerous workings. You learn one shaping ritual and one Solar spell for free. This first Solar spell becomes a control spell for you.

  1. A separate Charm was listed as an upgrade for this Charm. The two Charms have been consolidated. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. The Uniform keyword from the original text has been removed, as it’s unnecessary with this notation. ↩ ↩2

  3. The Decisive-only keyword from the original text has been removed, as it served no mechanical purpose. ↩ ↩2

  4. This Charm has a different action in the source text, but has been changed here to better reflect how it’s used in play. ↩ ↩2