Location Merits

Residence Merits (Universal)

A residence is a character’s stronghold, a place where they can practice their arts and more importantly, where they keep all their stuff. It could be a riverside apartment, an old estate or even a cottage.
All residences are not created equal. A warehouse might have sufficient space, but it might not be secure against unwanted visitors. A hidden cave has adequate security, but it might be dark and cramped. Great time and effort is spent finding suitable Residences, and their value is represented by two factors — size and security. Players who choose this Merit must also choose how to allocate these two factors when spending dots. For instance, two dots may be spent on Residence Size, with a third spent on Residence Security. There are other features that can also be purchased
These Merits are open to characters from all Venues and encompass Sanctums, Havens and other locations owned by the Character. They can be purchased multiple times to represent different locations (ie. A residence, and sanctum), and can be shared. See Shared Merits at bottom of document. All Merits are subject to Storyteller approval.

Residence Size (• to •••••)

• Equivalent to a small apartment or underground chamber; 1-2 rooms
•• Equivalent to a large apartment or small family home; 3-4 rooms
••• Equivalent to a large home; 5-8 rooms, or large enclosure
•••• Equivalent to a mansion; equivalent of 9-15 rooms or chambers
••••• Equivalent to a sprawling estate or vast network of tunnels; countless rooms or chambers

Residence Security (• to •••••)

Sanctums with no dots in Sanctum Security can be found by those intent enough to look, and offer little protection once they have been breached. Each dot of Security subtracts one die from efforts to intrude into the place by anyone a character doesn’t specifically allow in. This increased difficulty may be because the entrance is so difficult to locate (behind a bookcase, under a carpet) or simply difficult to penetrate (behind a vault door). Also, each dot of Security offers a +1 bonus on Initiative for those inside against anyone attempting to gain entrance (good sight lines, etc).

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Additions

The Merits in this section are available to all character types, provided you have the prerequisites, justification, and ST approval. They can be added onto any location types (Haven, Sanctum, Hollow, Safehouse, Etc)

Archive/Library (• to •••••)

Prerequisites: Must be attached to a location (Residence, Sanctum, Haven, Safe House, Etc) with at least a size of 1 Your character maintains a personal collection of useful information that can help with natural and supernatural research. Whether it’s in the form of a musty collection of occult tomes, or a talking skull with several lifetimes of information at hand, the archive includes reference materials that can help the character learn about the world around him. The archive also offers insight into supernatural and occult topics. In both fields of knowledge — mundane research and occult lore — this collection relates to one or more fields of specialization.
Each dot in this Merit represents one field of study or area of knowledge in which your character has a wealth of tomes (or perhaps a supernatural resource) and from which he may draw information. If he has Archive •••, his dots might be assigned to mythical creatures, medieval history and goblin fruits, respectively. Topics can include arcane lore that most people don’t know about or that has been forgotten since antiquity, as well as lore that humanity has never known.
Gaining information from an archive is a research task, as described on pp. 55–56 of the World of Darkness Rulebook, except that a character spends only 15 minutes per roll when researching in his archive. (This time cannot be further reduced by the Brownie’s Boon Merit.) Success doesn’t guarantee exactly the information for which he looks. Archives aren’t all-knowing, and they don’t always provide one definitive answer to a question, since multiple authors may have different points of view on the same subject. The Storyteller is perfectly justified in saying that a particular archive simply doesn’t reveal something.
A character may allow another character the privilege of consulting his archives, but unless this consultant puts points toward the Archive Merit, the standard 30 minutes per roll are spent researching his topic.
A character may only have one archive associated with any given location, but can purchase a second archive, provided they have a Residence, or other such location it can be associated with, but they must designate what topics are at each location.

Focused Room (• to •••)

Prerequisites: Must be attached to a location (Residence, Sanctum, Haven, Safe House, Etc) with at least a size of 1 Characters with this Merit have a carefully maintained space that enhances tasks performed within it. This takes the form of a dice pool bonus on rolls involving a specific skill. For instance, a library might be arranged to grant a +2 bonus on Investigation dice pools, while a workshop might be set up to provide a +1 bonus on crafting dice pools. These bonuses only apply to actions taken inside the space.
Note that one maintained can’t exist inside a larger one. It’s not possible to have a +1 bonus to research dice pools in a library and a +3 bonus to crafting dice pools everywhere else in the house, for example. You could however have multiple rooms set up. Each room is purchased separately

Gauntlet (• to ••)

A Residence is more than brick and mortar, flesh and blood. The Shadow Realm surrounds it, enabling creatures unseen to lurk in spaces outside the world we know. Unless these spirits have the strength to Materialize across the Gauntlet inside the location or the ability to peer at its inhabitants, the Shadow Realm is of little consequence to anyone unconcerned with shamanic magic.

The Strength of the Gauntlet in a residence depends on just where it is located. The Strength of a residence in the midst of downtown is probably 5. A sanctum out in the wilderness might be Strength 2. The Storyteller determines the beginning Gauntlet Strength based on the sanctum’s location. This Strength can be modified up or down by buying Merit dots.

Gauntlet Strength*	Merit Dot Cost
–2	●●
–1	●
+1	●
+2	●●

* Minimum Strength of 1. A Verge cannot be created around the sanctum with this Merit.

Guardian Ghost (•• to •••••)

Prerequisite: Location size 1+ and the ability to communicate with a ghost or to have somehow convince them to be a guardian
Effect: A wise person fears what he doesn’t see as much as what he does see. While an empty corridor in a sanctum may look like an easy opportunity for a quick raid, it’s entirely possible that spiritual forces are guarding it, hiding in Twilight.
A Twilight ghost has been anchored to an object or room within the material building and commanded to guard the entire sanctum against intruders. The ghost will only heed the commands of its masters (i.e., anyone who has contributed Merit dots toward the purchase of this Merit the ghost will treat all others as hostile unless commanded by its master to exempt a person from its ire.
The masters do not need to be able to converse with the ghost (it can understand their commands), but they can’t see it or hear it without using the Death 1 “Speak with the Dead” spell, unless the ghost uses a Numen like Ghost Sign or manifests. (They can command it to do so.)
The dot rating of this Merit represents the power of the ghost.

Dots	Attribute Dots	Max Essence	Numina Dots
••	5	10	1
•••	10	15	2
••••	15	20	3
•••••	30	25	4

The player or Storyteller creates the ghost, distributing its Attribute dots among its Power, Finesse and Resistance traits, and choosing its Numina.
Drawback: Ghosts can be controlled by other mages using the Death Arcanum. They can also be driven out by an exorcism, which even a Sleeper can perform. (See “Exorcisms,” p. 214, in the World of Darkness Rulebook.) If that happens, all dots in this Merit are lost.

Guardian Retainer (• to •••••)

Prerequisite: Location size 1+ Effect: This Merit is exactly like the Retainer Merit, in that it gives the Character a servant, but this one is trained mainly for combat. Usually a minimum of two dots is needed to make a guardian of any value. (One dot might provide a good lookout but does not represent a worthy fighter.) The guardians can be sentries, soldiers, or watchmen — whatever role is needed to defend the location.
They take their orders from anyone who is a legitimate owner of the location (i.e., anyone who has contributed Merit dots toward the Locations' Size or Security). A Location's Size describes how many bodies can be comfortably sequestered inside the location. Generally, you can fit two guardians per room. Any more than that and morale might be less than desired, giving the guardians a chance to simply break and run if the action gets too heavy.
Drawbacks: Guardian Retainers will only defend the location, not perform errands like other Retainers; this is the price for their willingness to die defending the location.

Guardian Spirit (•• to •••••)

Prerequisite: Location size 1+ and the ability to communicate with a spirit or to have somehow convince them to be a guardian Effect: A Twilight spirit has been fettered to an object or room within the location and commanded to guard the entire location against intruders. The spirit will only heed the commands of its masters (i.e., anyone who has contributed Merit dots toward the purchase of this Merit the spirit will treat all others as hostile unless commanded by its master to exempt a person from its ire.
The masters do not need to be able to converse with the spirit (it can understand their commands), but they can’t see it or hear it without using the Spirit 1 “Spirit Tongue” spell, unless it uses a Numen to materialize. The dot rating of this Merit represents the power of the spirit.

Dots	Rank	Attribute Dots	Max Essence	Numina Dots
••	1	5	10	1
•••	2	10	15	2
••••	3	15	20	3
•••••	4	30	25	4

Traps (• to •••••)

It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you... right?
A trap can take a myriad of forms. Walking up the stairs on the left side is safe, but on the right side, they’re rigged to collapse. Looking behind a painting causes an ax to swing down from the ceiling, just about at head level. A trap can also be designed to destroy part (or all) of the residence — at the flick of a switch, the place goes up in flames, collapses or explodes.
A trap can either inflict damage equal to the dots allocated to it to a single target, or can inflict less damage to a large area. Once a trap is tripped (provided it doesn’t destroy the place), any character who contributed dots to the safehouse can reset it with minimal work. This is what differentiates traps represented by this Merit from others that the characters might build themselves during the course of the chronicle; no rolls or special effort are required to reset a Safehouse Trap. Though, if the trap is designed to destroy large sections of the safehouse, that damage can’t be repaired without significant effort and expense, if at all. Any trap that deals damage to the Residence Size can be rigged to go off after a short delay, giving the characters time to flee.
x The characters haven’t bothered setting traps. Perhaps they’re afraid of setting them off themselves. • A trap that inflicts one point of lethal damage to a target (concealed knife, caltrops) or three points of bashing damage to a small area (electrified floor, mild poison gas). •• A trap that inflicts two points of lethal damage to a target (spring-loaded knife) or inflicts six bashing damage to a small area (falling sandbags, fire-hose trap), or a trap that incorporates fire and thus has a chance of igniting targets and the house (see p. 180 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). ••• A trap that inflicts three points of lethal damage to a target (falling ax, poisoned needle on a doorknob) or eight bashing damage to an area (collapsing staircase), or a trap that damages a portion of the residence, reducing its Size by one (explosives; anyone caught in the blast takes two lethal damage). •••• A trap that inflicts four lethal damage to a target (pit with spikes) or 10 bashing damage/two lethal damage to an area (deadfall trap), or a trap that reduces the Safehouse Size by one to three dots (anyone caught in the area suffers three points of lethal damage). ••••• A trap that inflicts five points of lethal damage to a target (spring-loaded sharpened stake, fire trap) or 12 bashing damage/three lethal damage to an area (acid spray), or a trap that completely destroys the residence, no matter how large (anyone caught inside suffers four points of lethal damage).

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Special Locations

Hollow

In order to have a Hollow, or any of the Hedge merits, you must possess the ability to cross into the hedge

Hollow Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size and Security

Hollow Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

Hollow Amenities (• to •••••)

Having a lot of space doesn’t always do much good if there isn’t anything occupying it, which is where Hollow Amenities comes in. Reflecting the relative luxuriousness of the Hollow as well as how well-stocked it is with supplies and other material comforts, this rating gives an idea of how elaborate the Hollow is as well as what a character can reasonably expect to find within it at a given time. (A character who wants a humble cabin doesn’t need to allocate much here, but a character who wants an elaborate treetop village stocked with delights should be ready to invest quite a bit.) A Hollow without any dots in Amenities contains few if any buildings or possessions — it might be big but it’s mostly empty space. At the other end of the spectrum, a retreat with five dots in amenities is likely fully stocked with all manner of luxuries, and while most of these Amenities are made of ephemeral dreamstuff and thus cannot travel across the Hedge or even that far from their origin within it, they still make for a very pleasing stay. (In other words, Hollow Amenities cannot be used as a substitute for other Merits such as Resources or Harvest, and if the character wants the things found in his Hollow to travel outside of it, he must purchase the appropriate Merits to represent these riches.) While a high Hollow Amenities rating often entails a high Hollow Size rating, exceptions do occur for example, a changeling might not invest much in Hollow Size, but then make that small cabin a veritable wonderland full of excellent food, interesting books and a magical fireplace that keeps itself at the perfect temperature all the time. Likewise, a motley might invest a lot in Hollow Size to get a giant Victorian mansion, but without much spent in Hollow Amenities, it will be sparsely furnished and likely a bit rundown.
Although Hollows cannot have access to some high-tech facilities such as phone service, Internet connections or satellite broadcasts, some of the more impressive Hollows make up for it with minor magical touches. These magical elements should not mimic anything as powerful as Contracts, but can provide basic household services and serve as excellent descriptive details and flourishes to create exactly what the player desires for the look and feel of their Hollow. A game board with living chess or gwybdyll pieces that can play against a living opponent is a perfectly acceptable entertainment amenity, for example, as might be a battered arcade cabinet that changes every new moon to a different video game never seen in the mortal world.
• A couple of homey touches, but otherwise quite plain •• A comfortable Hollow with a few notable features and decent fare ••• An elaborate Hollow with quite a few clever details and an excellent supply of refreshments and diversions •••• An impressive Hollow containing abundant mundane delights and even one or two noteworthy minor magical services as well ••••• A lavish dwelling with nearly every comfort of modern living as well as quite a few magical conveniences
Use the list below to get some ideas not only of potential magical touches within a character’s Hollow, but also to help determine just how many dots one should possess in the Hollow Amenities Merit to allow for such flourishes. Treat these dot “costs” as the cost associated with some equipment with Resource dots. You don’t “spend” Resource dots on items (meaning that the dots don’t go away once one purchases, say, a scope for a rifle), and you don’t need to spend Amenities dots, either. These are just guidelines.
Dream Chaise (••): This chaise (which can actually be a couch, bed, or recliner) is stuffed with soft downy feathers of various Hedge birds. A changeling who sleeps a full eight hours upon the chaise does not regain a Willpower point upon waking, but instead gains a point of Glamour. One is guaranteed potent dreams from sleeping here — never nightmares, even if one possesses the flaw or the derangement. Such potent dreams sometimes incur oracular visions, but one cannot control the content or the frequency of such dreams. Feasting Table (••••): The Feasting Table is a dining room table, usually of dark cherry wood and with elegant, ornate claw feet. One places a tablecloth over it and, upon whipping the cloth away, finds that the table has been filled with enough food to feed a squad of soldiers. The food is rich, luxuriant, a wide spread of strange gourmet meals. Some are earthly (duck confit and gnocchi, for instance), and some… aren’t (drained and rinsed venom glands braised in a syrupy dream-a-drupe brandy). One side amenity is that in the middle of the smorgasbord there always lingers a bowl of five goblin fruits of one type. The changeling cannot demand what fruit will appear, just as he cannot decide what the Feasting Table will serve as its spread.
Gruel Pot (•): It’s better than it sounds, but not by much. The changeling can place this pot on any surface, and throw into it any materials organic or not-so-organic. After a half-hour, the materials break down into a hot, glutinous stew of overcooked meat and potatoes. Horticulturist’s Box (•••): This planter box is filled with a heady, stinky soil that needn’t be replaced. If the character replants any plant in this, including a goblin fruit plant, the flora is likely to take root far more easily. Assume that if a Wits + Crafts roll is necessary for replanting Hedge foliage (see p. 130), that roll gains a +1 if the plant can be relocated to this planting box. Mundane plants in the box need no roll, and truly flourish as if given a hefty dose of ultra-strength fertilizer.
Looking Glass (•• or •••••): A two-dot Looking Glass is a mirror linked to a mirror in the character’s own 136 Chapter Four: From the Thorns home in the human world. She may gaze into the Hollow mirror and concentrate for one turn and see through the mirror in her own home. The five-dot version allows the character to concentrate for a turn and see through any mirror into which she has previously gazed: the mirror in a doctors’ office bathroom, a police two-way mirror, even a small hand-mirror she saw lying on the side of the highway.
Mood Lighting (••): The lighting in the Hollow — which may come from torches bracketed to the wall or from strange glowing pill-bugs that gather in the corners of the room — responds to the changeling’s wishes. She can demand that it’s bright (obviating any perception penalties due to dim light) or that the shadows grow long and dark (incurring up to –2 to penalties in the half-dark).
Twin’s Chest (••): The character has a chest or set of drawers whose clothing contents mirror the sets of clothes that the changeling possesses in the real world. The chest magically reproduces them, though each reproduction features a minor flaw or offset item: a label in the wrong space, differently-colored buttons, one sleeve slightly longer than the other.
Unknown Amphora (•••): This little amphora (which may not be a Greek-style neck amphora at all but could be a glass decanter or some other booze-holding bottle) fills with some manner of Hedge beverage once per day. The amphora holds two glasses of said random beverage — it might be a bitter chartreuse or a nectarsweet mead. The effects of the Thorn liquor usually mimic those associated with alcohol, but may also mimic those of any other drug (see “Drugs,” pp. 176–177, World of Darkness Rulebook). The effects are gained upon finishing the one glass. Once the amphora is empty of its contents, it does not refill until the next evening.

Hollow Doors (• to •••••)

Hollow Doors reflects how many entrances and exits a Hollow has, which can be equally important if a character is cut off from her normal access point in the real world or finds herself in need of a quick escape route while staying in the Hollow. Without any dots in Hollow Doors, a Hollow is assumed to have one entrance in the real world and one small entrance in the Hedge — the Hollow can be reached through either side. (A character may waive either of these “free” entrances if he only wishes the Hollow to be accessible from one side.) With each dot in Hollow Doors, the Hollow has one additional point of entry/exit, either in the real world or through the Hedge. For example, with the expenditure of multiple dots, each motley member might have a door in his own residence that allows him access to the group’s private Hollow. Note that these doors must be tied to static access points in either realm — these places do not change.

Hollow Wards (• to •••••)

Of course, a changeling might have the most gigantic and elaborate Hollow imaginable, but unless it is properly warded and secured against intrusion, it will most likely be lost to opportunistic scavengers in short order — or worse yet, subject to an unpleasant visitation from the Others. Thus, it is wise to invest at least a few dots in Hollow Wards, representing the precautions both mundane and magical that protect the Hollow from unwanted visitors. Each dot invested in Hollow Wards subtracts one die from all attempts by unwanted visitors to find or break into the Hollow; in addition, those inside receive a +1 die bonus per dot on their Initiative compared to those attempting to break in. Lastly, the more dots invested in Hollow Wards, the less likely the location is to be found by True Fae or creatures from the Hedge; each dot subtracts one die from any rolls made to find the Hollow.
Characters whose players spend no points at all on Hollow simply do not have access to any sort of special location in the Hedge. They might come as guests to another’s dwelling from time to time, but if they wish to have regular access to any particular location, they must purchase this Merit on their own or pool points with other changelings who already own an existing Hollow. Characters with no Hollow points simply do not enjoy the mechanical benefits of having spent dots on a better living space in the Hedge.

Ritual Door (•••)

Prerequisite: Hollow Doors (•••••) Effect: In addition to its normal doors, a Hollow bearing this Merit can be entered anywhere in the Hollow via one of its normal doors. In addition, this ritual does not work in the Hedge. While in the Hedge, your character must find one of the normal entrances to her Hollow.
Special: Each Hollow with this Merit has only a single ritual that can be used to enter it. However, this ritual can be changed, which is typically done if strangers or enemies learn of the ritual. Changing the ritual requires one or more of the Hollow’s owners to spend a day in the Hollow crafting the new ritual. At the end of this time, the changeling leading this ritual must make a Wits + Occult roll and spend a sufficient number of experience points to purchase this Merit a second time. If several of the Hollow’s owners are present, they can share this expense among them. At this point, the old ritual that previously allowed entrance into this Hollow ceases to work, and only the new ritual can be used. Characters who previously knew the old ritual do not automatically know the new ritual, including the owners of the Hollow who were not present when this ritual was performed.

Hedge Workshop (• to •••••)

Prerequisite: Location, size equal to points in Workshop Effect: Your character maintains, within her Residence, Hollow, haven or sanctum, a variety of equipment and tools that can help with the creation of natural and supernatural items. Whether in the form of a forge with metallurgy tools, an artist’s loft, a laboratory filled with beakers and crucibles or an orchard outfitted with the best gardening tools, your character’s residence has been outfitted with precisely the right things she needs to have on hand to create.
Each dot in this Merit represents a level of equipment for one particular Craft Specialty. Thus, a Hollow with a three-dot Workshop Merit might include a single level of equipment for Blacksmithing, Weaving and Goblin Fruit Farming, or two levels of any one of those and one level of another or three levels in any one Specialty. For each level of Workshop focused on a particular Craft Specialty, characters using the Workshop to produce items in that Specialty area gain +3 to their Crafts rolls.
Possible Workshop Specialties include (but are not limited to) Calligraphy, Woodcrafting, Blacksmithing, Mechanics, Painting, Goblin Fruit Farming and the like. Token Making is not an acceptable Specialty. Because of the diverse nature of tokens, each falls under the Craft Specialty of the particular item, so a Biting Grotesque would be under Sculpting, while a Blood Pennon would be under Sewing.
Special: Characters who share a Location can also share Workshop dots, with each contributing to a particular equipment area. These characters each receive the full benefits of the Workshops. It may happen that the crafters suffer a falling-out, in which

Hob Kin (••)

The roughly humanoid hobgoblins known as hobs are relatively ubiquitous in the Hedge. While almost none have anything mortals or changelings would regard as friends, hobs treat their own kind somewhat less ruthlessly than they treat others. For some reason, hobs react to your character as they react to their own kind. The reason for this reaction could include everything from your character having performed a service that aided several important hobs to your character having something in her nature that makes hobs react to her as one of their own. Your character may have no idea why hobs react as they do.
This reaction does not alleviate the need for your character to do favors for hobs. Hobs never do anything for free; doing so would violate every precept of their nature. However, among their own kind, hobs have a quid pro quo arrangement, where a service is paid for by a favor of roughly equal magnitude. Instead of having to pay vast amounts for a simple but vital service, your character generally only needs to pay a hob what the service is worth. As a result, your character is free to have one or more hobs guard her Hollow in return for allowing them to live in it when they desire or to give her warning about the approach of the Gentry and other dangerous residents of the Hedge, if your character is willing to aid these same hobs against similar dangers.

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Haven

Haven Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size

Haven Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

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Packhouse

While not limited to Werewolves and shifters, one must be in a pack

Packhouse Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size and Security

Packhouse Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

Locus (• to •••••)

A locus is a center and fountain of spiritual energy (or “Essence”). Loci also represents “crossing points” between the spirit world and physical world.

Locus Level	Essence Generated	Zone of Influence
•	3/day	Influences only the immediate vicinity, no more than two yards from the locus
••	6/day	Influences the world and people around, for up to 15 yards from the locus
•••	9/day	Influences a sizable area around the locus: a single floor of a building, a forest clearing or a group of people
••••	12/day	Influence whole buildings, sections of forest or large groups of people
•••••	15/day	Influences whole city blocks, lakes or communities of people

Benefits • Werewolves and other beings capable of entering the spirit world can usually cross the Gauntlet only within a locus’ area of influence. • Spirits may use their Numina across the Gauntlet at a locus of the appropriate resonance, without needing the Reaching Numen. • Spirits re-form or regenerate more quickly at a locus. Standard healing or regeneration rates double for spirits in a locus as long as their resonances are generally compatible. For instance, a spirit of sleep would be unable to benefit from a locus with a powerful electrical resonance

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Safe houses (Universal)

Safehouses are available to any charcters that put in the time and effort to establish them

Safe House Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size

Safe House Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

Secrecy (• to •••••)

If the monsters don’t know where to find the character, they have a harder time killing them. Dots in Safehouse Secrecy indicate how far removed from the characters the safehouse is, from a legal (and paper trail) standpoint. These dots impose a negative penalty on any attempt to find the character through the property, or vice versa. The descriptions of the different dot ratings below are just examples; it’s up to the player to decide what the Secrecy represents.
x The character rented or bought the place using his real name. • The character went through an intermediary, but cosigned a loan at some point. •• Some effort toward concealment; an assumed name or paying in cash. ••• Considerable difficulty in tracing the property — the character might just be squatting. •••• The character never goes back to the place if he doesn’t have to, never gets there by the same route, and his real name never appears on any of the documentation. ••••• The property has a real owner who lives there full time, is aware of his rights and, if necessary, can show cops around the place while casually denying that he’s ever seen the character before.

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Sanctum

Sanctum Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size

Sanctum Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

Alchemical Lab

Your character maintains a laboratory suitable for both the spiritual experiments and the production of gross materials arising from the occult practice of alchemy. The lab is equipped with a mix of equipment, such as forges, furnaces and cauldrons. A catalog may track your inventory of herbs, metals and pharmaceutical ingredients, or you might simply find what you need by memory, sorting through jar after jar jumbled together on cobwebbed, dusty shelves.
Your dots in this Merit serve as an equipment bonus when creating gross matter, the range of substances that retain and then deliver other spell effects. Additional dots also increase the chances that you’ll have all necessary ingredients on hand when you set out on a new project. For details, see “Producing Gross Matter,” in TOM pg 144

Hallow (• to •••••)

Prerequisite: Sanctum Size 1+ A Hallow is a nexus of magical energy, a place that generates Mana each day. Such locations are vital to mages. Your character has one within his sanctum’s premises. The sanctum’s security determines how well it is guarded from access by uninvited mages.
Hallows tend to be situated in high places, especially where the stars are visible at night. Mana seems to flow readily there, although that isn’t always the case; dark glens and hollows covered by a canopy of trees or steep peaks can still host such energy. Nonetheless, they occur most often on mountaintops, hills or at the tops of tall buildings, giving birth to the legend of mages in their towers.
A Hallow generates a number of points of Mana equal to its dots each day. A mage can transfer the power from his Hallow to replenish his own Mana points by performing an oblation (see MtA p. 77) or using a Prime 3 spell. Each Hallow is tied to a particular time of day when this replenishment can take place — sundown, sunrise and midnight are the most common.
If this Mana is not harvested, it congeals into tass, usually in the form of spring water or growing plants, or it’s imbued into stones or other objects. Some mages forbid others from harvesting free Mana, cultivating it into tass that can be stored and used later. See Tass.
A Hallow’s Mana shares the place’s quality of resonance. Resonance quality in opposition to a spell’s effects — calm resonance for an attack spell, violent resonance for a healing spell — might levy anywhere from –1 to –2 penalties on spellcasting rolls. For this reason, mages do not let their Hallows become polluted with foreign or impure auras. They work to maintain proper resonance quality.
Additionally, a Hallow’s close vicinity (five yards per dot rating) is always suffused with power. This power obviates the need to spend one point of Mana for any mage within the vicinity. Essentially, mages need not spend that one point even when it’s required, such as for improvisational spellcasting, but must spend any points in excess that are still required, such as when casting an improvisational spell that inflicts aggravated damage. This example would normally cost two points, but it costs only one within the Hallow’s vicinity. This suffuse power cannot be siphoned into something else using Prime magic or into the mage’s personal store of Mana.

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Shadow Sanctum

In order to have a Shadow sanctum, you must possess the ability to cross into the shadow. If shared, at least one needs the ability to cross into the Shadow

Shadow Sanctum Size (• to •••••)

As per residence Size

Shadow Sanctum Security (• to •••••)

As per residence Security

Shadow Sanctum Amenities (• to •••••)

As per Hollow Amenities

Shadow Sanctum Doors (• to •••••)

As per Hollow Doors

Glade (•••)

A glade is a fountain of positive emotion and peaceful energy. Glades are havens within the Shadow, and are extremely rare in the modern day
Benefits: To initiate a fight within a glade (or to continue a running battle that enters a glade), the character must succeed in a Resolve check. Even if that roll succeeds, the attacker suffers –2 dice to all rolls to attack or hurt another, or to transform into a war form. Defenders or those seeking to prevent violence receive +2 dice to all pools rolled to that end

Locus (• to •••••)

As per Packhouse Locus merit

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Shop (• to •••)

This merit represents businesses owned by player characters or non player characters which other characters can interact with. This could be a store front, a bakery, bar, etc. These locations are assumed to have basic security, inventory, and staff depending on size. • - a small shop, cafe, bakery, etc. You are assumed to have enough inventory to run the modest shop for a week. 1-3 staff to assist with the day to day business (as determined by the STs) and very basic security (-1 to dice pools to break in). Justification for purchasing resources 1. •• - a “medium” shop, cafe, bakery, etc. You are assumed to have enough inventory to run the shop for two weeks. 4-8 staff to assist with the day to day business (as determined by the STs) and basic security (-2 to dice pools to break in). Justification for purchasing resources 2. ••• - a “large” shop, cafe, bakery, etc. You are assumed to have enough inventory to run the modest shop for a month. 8-15 staff to assist with the day to day business (as determined by the STs) and decent security (-3 to dice pools to break in). Justification for purchasing resources 3.
A note on staff The Staff should be 'background'/off-screen. They are not a free army of Retainers, but an assumption that the business functions in it's wholly mundane capacity. The Staff should not interact with PCs except in the most cursory fashion to fulfill the Site's line of business; for example, a waitress taking a meal order. Anything above and beyond require Retainers.

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Land

These merits are open to any characters that own land/property and represent features of the property. You must have ST approval and justification.

Ambush Site (•)

This descriptor represents a location within the pack’s territory where all of the characters know that they can get the drop on enemies wandering through. It is up to players to define and describe why a given location is a good ambush site. It may be a blind alley, a “killing field” empty lot with no cover anywhere or a twisted cavern maze.

Caverns/Tunnels (•)

Certain parts of the country are riddled with underground passages of all shapes and sizes. Some are ordinary limestone caverns, while others are leftover mines or other, stranger things. This feature expressly refers to tunnels large enough for a human to pass through. This feature can exist in urban settings as well, but, in that case, cavern/tunnel refers to subway tunnels, broad sewer tunnels or gigantic 1950s-era fallout shelters.
Benefits: Earth elementals, spirits of burrowing mammals, spirits of bats and other nocturnal creatures are drawn to caverns: +2 dice to summon such entities. +1 die to Survival dice pools that revolve around the need for shelter. In addition, Invisible and silent transport between different parts of owned Land. Pick two (or more, at the Storyteller’s discretion) features of your land; these caverns open in both of those areas, and you can move from one to the other through these tunnels. Caverns lack the strong odors of the surface world: +1 die to track by smell underground.

Cemetery (•)

A cemetery is an area where the dead are buried. This may be a traditional graveyard, with rows of headstones side by side every eight feet, or it could be unusual — such as a pet cemetary. Benefits: Ghosts are easy to find in a cemetery.

Cliff/Ridge (•)

A high point where the ground falls away steeply to one or both sides, a ridge is a very defensible point that provides good visibility; it may be long or relatively narrow. Benefits: +1 to Wits dice pools to detect approaching people or spirits +1 to Stealth dice pools to hide from those coming up from lower ground. Cliffs and ridges are usually steep enough that they cannot be climbed without special equipment.

Essence Current/Ley Line (•)

Essence doesn’t just pool in place or slowly ebb from one location to another. Essence also races from one place to another at high speed. An Essence flow generally runs from one locus to another. These loci may have nearly identical resonance, or they may have opposed resonances. Essence flows swiftly through the line, at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour. If the current connects two loci of identical resonance, the ley line serves to keep the two loci roughly balanced (in terms of the amount of Essence each holds). If the current connects two opposing loci, the ley line keeps each locus strong byfunneling Essence toward the appropriate locus. Ley lines sometimes spontaneously emerge between loci that are dozens of miles apart — or even farther.
Note that ley lines do not naturally raise a locus’ rating. Instead, they simply balance the amount of Essence flowing through an area.
Ley lines tend to run along natural paths — where possible they flow along with rivers or streams, along strong wind currents or even mineral veins underground. If no such obvious path exists, Essence may flow along human-made paths, or roads.
Benefits: Ley lines can be used to drain negative Essence from the local area, by connecting a powerful local locus to a weak remote one. The negative Essence doesn’t vanish forever, of course — it is simply leached away to a place that is someone else’s problem. Essence currents can also be used to support a nearby locus, by aligning it to a powerful remote locus.

Farm (•)

This sort of feature refers to a relatively small family farms A farm can provide relatively safe land to roam on or otherwise use. Farms don’t typically attract wilderness-spirits, and the plant-type spirits that the farms attract are unusually docile, as these spirits are the reflections of heavily subjugated plant life.
Benefits: Resources • at no cost (though higher levels of the Resources Merit still cost as normal) The very existence of a farm thickens the Gauntlet slightly as humans impose order on the natural world; raising it by 1

Haunted (••)

The area in question is infested with one or more ghosts. For the most part, ghosts in the World of Darkness are the emotional impression left over by particularly violent deaths or by those who died while still leaving something important in their lives unresolved. Some ghosts are self-aware — they realize that they are ghosts. Others are mostly self-aware, but do not realize that they are ghosts. Still others are simple whorls of rage, or mindless automatons, endlessly repeating the actions immediately preceding their demise.
Although ghosts have many things in common with spirits, ghosts are not spirits, and most have few means overall to deal with ghosts.
Benefits: The dead are inherently unnerving to most; decrease humans’ effective Willpower by 1 while the human remains in a haunted area. Ghosts see and hear a lot of things that mortals miss, as ghosts lurk invisibly near areas that were important to them in life. A ghost may be willing to part with useful information in return for a treasured reminder of the living world.

Mountain (••)

Mountains are pinnacles of the local terrain — a “proper” mountain peak is more than 2,000 feet above sea level. Mountains are rarely useful for agriculture. Their steep sides prevent local humans from doing anything useful on the surface, but humans dig into mountains to extract their mineral wealth.
Benefits: A mountain provides an almost unassailable fortress for those who need defense. A mountain provides good visibility, and enemies have to fight their way uphill to defenders (defenders can easily gain the standard +1 dice pool for fighting from higher ground as long as they avoid being outflanked). Earth elementals, spirits of wealth and spirits of raptors are drawn to mountains; +2 dice to summon such things. Water naturally flows away from mountains; –2 dice to summon water elementals.
Mountains often serve as home to great mineral wealth and can provide materials for Artifact creation, adding 1 die to the pool for the creation of Fetish items, so long as the fetish and spirit are of the appropriate resonance.

Pond/Lake/Lakefront (•)

A pond, lake or lakefront is a standing body of water, fed by streams, rivers and/or springs. No individual or group will have a truly huge lake to itself (such as the freshwater seas that are the American Great Lakes), but may claim a share of lakefront and the lake out to a certain distance.
Benefits: +1 die to summon water and fish-spirits. +1 die to Survival rolls to find food (the characters can fish) unless the water is heavily polluted. As with an ocean or other large body of water, characters can travel quickly across a lake’s surface, possibly surprising enemies that didn’t expect the characters to do so. Small lakes and ponds freeze over in the winter, allowing anyone to cross them without boats or swimming (though there is some risk).

River/Riverside (•)

A river is a navigable waterway — a stream large enough for boats to float down it.
Benefits: Rivers provide rapid transit for large and heavy goods, create huge and defensible natural barriers between territories and attract spirits of all sorts (spirits of commerce, most of the water choir and most of the fish choir as well as spirits associated with those that prey on those fish, and so on). Rivers provide a good platform for many other territory features — whether tranquil wilderness, or heavy industry that relies on river barges for transit

Spring (••)

Springs have great mythical power: they represent spontaneous creation, the eruption of life from sterility.
Benefit: Most springs provide a nearly limitless supply of clean water. Springs are inherently creative entities; a well-maintained spring provides +1 dice pool modifier to Summoning rituals performed there and a +2 (total) modifier to rituals performed to summon water elementals there. The Gauntlet of a spring at its source is often quite low, typically allowing a +0 dice pool modifier

Stream (•)

A stream is a small stretch of running water, usually wet year-round. It is shallow enough to wade through and rarely more than a few yards across.
Benefits: Streams are calming and peaceful; Those who meditate near a stream receive +2 dice to their Composure + Wits rolls while doing so. Tracking prey across a stream is more difficult; trackers receive a –2 die penalty to Survival or Perception rolls to follow a target that has crossed a stream. A stream may, at periods of high water, provide +1 die to summon water-spirits.

Woods/Forest (••)

This feature refers to wild forest, rather than “tree farms” (tree farms are more like ‘farms,’ above). A wild forest doesn’t necessarily have to be an old-growth forest; any large patch of woods that has been left to grow under its own auspices for many years can qualify.
Benefits: +2 dice to summon spirits of trees, wood, earth elementals, spirits associated with any bird choir or with any animal choir that lives in the forest. +2 dice on Survival rolls to hunt; +1 dice on Stealth and Athletics rolls to move around in familiar forests. Deep forest has a thin Gauntlet; +0 dice pool penalty to step sideways in a deep forest. Spirits of the wind and of fire are harder to summon in a forest — suffer a –2 dice pool penalty to summon either of those kinds of spirits.

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